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The  Ministry  of  the  Word 


By  G.  CAMPBELL  MORGAN 


EXPOSITORT 

The  Teaching  of  Christ.    Cloth 

The  Crises  of  the  Christ.    Popular  Edition 

The  Study  and  Teaching  of  the  English  Bible. 
Cloth 

The  Missionary  Manifesto.   Being  a  Study  of  the 
Great  Commission 

The  Analyzed  Bible.  Introductory  Volumes.  Vols. 

I,  11,  III.     Each 

Analytical  l^olumes.  Vol.  IV,  The  Gospel  Ac- 
cording to  John.  Vol.  V,  The  Book  of  Job.  Vol. 
VI,  Romans.  Vol.  VII.  VIII,  The  Prophecy  of 
Isaiah,  I  and  II.  IX,  Genesis.  X,  The  Gospel  of 
Matthew.     Each 

Living  Messages  of  the  Books  of  the  Bible. 
Now  Complete  in  Two  Volumes.  i2mo,  cloth,  each, 
Vol.  I,  O.  T.— Genesis  to  Malachi.  Vol.  II,  N.  T. 
— Matthew  to  Revelation. 

The  Parables  of  the  Kingdom.    Expositions  of 
Matt.  XIII •        .        . 

The  Spirit  of  God.    Cloth 

A  First  Century  Message  to  Twentieth  Cen- 
tury Christians 

God's  Methods  With  Man.  In  Time— Past,  Pres- 
ent and  Future.     With  Colored  Chart     . 

Wherein  Have  We  Robbed  God  ?        .       .       . 

God's  Perfect  Will 

The  Ten  Commandments 

The  Hidden  Years  at  Nazareth     .... 

DEVOriONAL 
Sunrise.     "  Behold,  He  Cometh  1 "    Cloth 
The  Bible  and  the  Cross.    Cloth     .... 

Christian  Principles.    Cloth 

Mountains  and  Valleys  in  the  Ministry  of  Jeaua. 

Boards        

The  Practice  of  Prayer.  Cloth  .... 
The  Simple  Things  of  the  Christian  Life.  Cloth, 
The  True  Estimate  of  Life  and  How  to  Live. 

Cloth 

Tha  Christ  of  To-Day.  What  ?  Whence?  Whither? 

Cloth 

The  Life  of  the  Christian.  Cloth  .... 
Evangelism.    Cloth  ....... 

Life  Problems . 

Discipleship.    Cloth 

•*  All  Things  New."  A  Message  to  New  Converts. 

Paper         

Christ  and  the  Bible.    Paper 


The  James  Sprunt  Lectures  delivered 
Union  Theological  Seminary  in  VirgimM 


^tP    2    197; 


The  Ministry  of  the 
Word 


G.  CAMPBELL'' MORGAN,  D.D. 


New   York  Chicaoo 

Fleming     H,     Revell     Company 

JLONPPi;  AND  Edinbuhoh 


Copyright,  19 19,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York :  1 58  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago  :  1 7  North  Wabash  Ave. 
London :  2 1  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh :      75     Princes     Street 


Dedicated  reverently  and  gladly  to 
THE  WORD  OF  GOD 

MY  LORD  AND  SAVIOUR 

Whose  Gift  of  Grace  has  been  my  only  equip- 
ment FOR  THE  Ministry  of  the  Word;  and 
Whose   tender    and   long-suffering    love    and 

PATIENCE  have  BORNE  WITH,  AND  OVERRULED,  ALL 
MY  DERELICTIONS  IN  THE  EXERCISE  THEREOF.  If, 
IN    THE    FURTHER    EXERCISE    OF    THAT   ASTONISHING, 

AMAZING    Grace,    He  will    use    this    EXPObiTioN 

TO    HELP    MY    YOUNGER    BRETHREN    IN    THE    SACRED 
OFFICE,  THEN   WILL   MY   HEART  BE  GLAD. 


Oft  when  the  Word  is  on  me  to  deliver, 

Lifts  the  illusion  and  the  truth  lies  bare, 
Desert  or  throng,  the  city  or  the  river, 

Melts  in  a  lucid  Paradise  of  air, — 
Only  like  souls  I  see  the  folk  thereunder. 

Bound  who  should  conquer,  slaves  who 
should  be  kings, — 
Hearing  their  one  hope  with  an  empty  wonder, 

Sadly  contented  in  a  show  of  things  ; — 
Then  with  a  rush  the  intolerable  craving 

Shivers  throughout  me  like  a  trumpet-call, — 
Oh  to  save  these  !  to  perish  for  their  saving, 

Die  for  their  life,  be  offered  for  them  all ! 


Contents 


Prologue 9 

The  title,  "  The  Ministry  of  the  Word." 
The  Setting  of  the  Phrase. 

I 

The  Fundamental  Conceptions 

A.  The  Ministry 19 

B.  The  Word 34 

II 

The  Primitive  Ideal 

A.  The  Word  as  the  Truth  of  the  Apostle       53 

B.  The  Word  as  the  Burden  of  the  Prophet      72 

C.  The  Word  as  the  Gospel  of  the  Evan- 

gelist .......      92 

D.  The  Word  as  the  Wisdom  of  the  Pastor 

AND  Teacher 112 

III 

The  Modern  Application 

A.  The  Changed  Conditions  . 

B.  The  Unchanged  Obligation     . 

C.  The  Preparation  of  the  Ministry 

D.  The  Exercise  of  the  Vocation 


Epilogue  . 

The  First  Responsibility. 
"  Prayer." 


156 
176 
198 

215 


Prologue 


THE  phrase  which  constitutes  the  gen- 
eral title  of  these  Lectures  has  been 
deliberately  selected,  as  giving  a  Bib- 
lical indication  of  the  theme  I  propose  to  discuss. 
It  occurs  in  a  very  familiar  passage  in  the  Book 
of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  An  appreciation  of 
the  historic  background  of  that  passage,  and  an 
understanding  of  the  particular  story  contained 
therein,  will  help  us  to  find  our  true  atmosphere, 
and  so  start  us  on  the  right  lines  of  our  con- 
sideration. 

The  historic  background  is  that  of  the  initia- 
tion of  the  new  Age  of  the  Spirit.  It  has  all 
the  freshness  and  fascination  of  dawn.  It  is 
certainly  true  that  no  pages  of  the  Biblical  liter- 
ature are  more  perennially  interesting.  We 
have  all  read  them  again  and  again  from  child- 
hood, and  yet  whenever  we  come  back  to  them, 
they  make  the  same  arresting  and  inspiring 
appeal  to  mind  and  heart  and  will.  We  seem, 
as  we  read,  to  feel  the  breath  of  the  winds  of 
God,  and  to  burn  with  the  enthusiasm,  which 

9 


lo    "THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  WORD" 

created  the  wonder  of  the  men  of  Jerusalem, 
as  they  observed  its  flaming  forth,  in  the  band 
of  Christian  disciples.  By  the  baptism  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  these  men  and  women,  who  had 
hitherto  been  devoted  followers  of  Jesus  of  Naz- 
areth, were  brought  into  mystic  but  mighty  re- 
lationship with  Him  as  the  victorious  and  as- 
cended Lord;  and  were  thus  perfectly  equipped 
for  witness  bearing.  Through  this  witness,  the 
number  of  believers  was  rapidly  increased.  Day 
by  day  there  were  added  to  the  Lord,  and  so  to 
the  glad  company,  those  who  received  the  Holy 
Spirit.  These  realized  their  communion  with 
each  other,  through  their  common  fellowship 
with  their  Lord. 

The  Day  which  had  thus  dawned  was  a  Day 
of  remarkable  power,  of  which  there  were 
abundant  signs.  The  healing  of  the  man  at  the 
Beautiful  Gate  of  the  Temple,  as  the  members 
of  the  Jewish  council  admitted,  was  a  ''  notable 
miracle  ";  and  so  impressed  with  this  fact  were 
the  members  of  that  council,  that  much  as  they 
desired  to  put  an  end  to  the  Christian  propa- 
ganda, they  dared  not,  then,  take  any  further 
steps  against  the  Apostles;  but  after  threaten- 
ing them,  they  permitted  them  to  go  back  to 
their  own  company. 


»'tHE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  WORD'*     it 

The  Day,  moreover,  was  one  of  a  strange  and 
awe-inspiring  purity.  Within  the  new  fellow- 
ship hypocrisy  and  untruth  could  not  exist,  as 
the  swift  judgment  which  fell  upon  Ananias  and 
Sapphira  proved.  The  effect  of  this  was  felt 
within  the  Church  and  beyond  it;  so  that,  to  use 
the  suggestive  phrase  of  the  historian,,  no  man 
durst  join  himself  to  them.  New  members  were 
added  by  the  Lord,  and  by  Him  alone. 

As  the  movement  grew,  hostility  became 
more  daring.  The  Apostles  were  next  impris- 
oned, but  they  were  supernaturally  liberated, 
and  fear  fell  afresh  upon  their  enemies.  Still 
resisting  the  power  of  the  Spirit,  the  rulers  beat 
the  Apostles,  and  then  were  confronted  by  the 
astonishing  spectacle  of  men  who  rejoiced  "  that 
they  were  counted  worthy  to  suffer  dishonour 
for  the  Name."  Such  were  these  wonderful 
days.  Within  the  fellowship,  "  the  Twelve " 
were  exercising  a  ministry  of  teaching  and  guid- 
ance on  behalf  of  the  whole  multitude  of  those 
who,  believing,  were  being  added  to  the  Lord. 

The  paragraph  in  which  the  phrase  occurs 
opens  with  the  words,  "In  these  days";  and 
reveals  their  special  characteristics  in  the  state- 
ment, "  the  number  of  the  disciples  was  multi- 
plying."    It  then  records  the  incident  of  the 


12     "THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  WORD" 

difficulty  which  arose  in  the  distribution  of  the 
common  funds.  This  difficulty  resulted  from 
the  persistence  of  an  old  trouble  within  the 
Christian  atmosphere,  that  of  the  mutual  sus- 
picion and  unfriendliness  of  the  Hellenists  and 
the  Hebrews.  The  former  complained,  in  all 
probability  not  without  reason,  that  the  He- 
brews within  the  community  neglected  the  Hel- 
lenist widows.  The  dispute  itself  has  no  inter- 
est for  us  now,  but  the  way  in  which  it  was 
dealt  with  leads  us  to  our  theme,  and  throws 
considerable  initial  light  thereupon. 

When  the  murmuring  occurred,  the  Apostles 
"  called  the  multitude  of  the  disciples "  to- 
gether. In  other  words,  the  difficulty  was  dealt 
with  by  the  whole  Church  in  solemn  assembly, 
under  the  guidance  of  the  Apostles.  There  was 
no  panic,  no  dissension.  The  matter  was  speed- 
ily and  smoothly  adjusted.  In  the  midst  of  His 
people  was  the  Lord  Himself,  according  to  His 
covenant;  and  He,  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  made 
known  His  will.  The  action  thus  taken  was  a 
very  remarkable  one  in  many  ways,  but  they  are 
not  immediately  relevant  to  our  theme.  One 
matter,  however,  is  of  importance. 

This  was  made  the  occasion  for  a  necessary 
and  vital  division  of  responsibility  in  the  interest 


"THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  WORD"     13 

of  the  life  and  service  of  the  Church.  From 
henceforth  there  were  to  be  within  her  borders 
two  orders  in  the  one  ministry ;  the  one  having 
to  do  with  the  serving  of  tables,  and  the  other 
with  the  service  of  the  Word.  It  is  in  this  con- 
nection that  our  phrase  occurs.  Having  charged 
the  Church  to  elect  "  men  of  good  report  full 
of  the  Spirit  and  of  wisdom,"  for  the  business 
of  serving  tables,  the  Apostles  said;  "We  will 
continue  steadfastly  in  prayer,  and  in  the  min- 
istry of  the  Word  J' 

That  phrase  is  one  of  abiding  importance  in 
its  revelation  of  the  true  nature  and  method 
of  one  aspect  of  Christian  Ministry;  that  aspect 
which  demands  the  devotion  of  the  whole  time 
and  energy  of  those  called  upon  to  exercise  it, 
and  which  cannot  be  perfectly  exercised  by 
those  whose  time  and  energy  are  taken  up  with 
other  matters,  however  right  and  proper  such 
matters  may  be  in  themselves.  Within  the 
phrase  itself  are  contained  words  which  suggest 
the  fundamental  conceptions.  To  these  we  shall 
give  careful  attention  before  proceeding  to  deal 
with  the  primitive  ideal,  or  attempting  to  make 
any  modern  application.  In  proportion  as  we 
accurately  apprehend  the  significance  of  the 
terms   "the  Ministry"   and   "the  Word,"  we 


14    "THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  WORD" 

shall  be  prepared  for  a  consideration  of  the 
whole  subject  of  "  the  Ministry  of  the  Word," 
and  the  privilege  and  responsibility  of  those 
called   thereto. 

Thus  it  will  be  realized  that  in  these  lectures 
I  am  desirous  of  considering  the  subject  of  the 
Christian  Ministry  solely  from  the  standpoint 
of  New  Testament  ideals.  It  is,  however,  in- 
evitable that  there  should  enter  into  the  con- 
sideration the  element  of  personal  experience 
and  colouring.  In  the  work  of  preparation  I 
have  attempted  to  avoid  that,  so  far  as  possible. 
Necessarily  it  could  not  be  wholly  absent  from 
my  own  thinking,  nor  therefore  will  it  be  absent 
from  the  minds  of  my  hearers.  My  apology 
then  for  the  measure  in  which  these  personal 
elements  obtain  in  my  outlook  must  be  that  of 
the  experience  which  has  created  them,  and  I 
may  be  pardoned  for  referring  to  them  in  a  few 
sentences. 

My  father  was  a  Bible  preacher  and  teacher 
of  no  mean  order.  He  was  a  man  of  one  book, 
in  a  sense  in  which  his  son  never  has  been.  He 
lived  to  the  four  score  years,  and  during  that 
period  never  read  a  work  of  fiction.  He  had  no 
knowledge  of  general  literature.  He  did  know 
his  Bible.     Under  his  influence  and  guidance  I 


"THE  MINISTRY  OF  THE  WORD"     15 

began  to  preach,  delivering  my  first  public  ad- 
dress when  a  boy  of  thirteen  years  of  age. 
From  then  until  now,  a  period  of  over  forty 
years,  I  have  continued  to  preach,  except  for 
two  years,  when,  through  partial  eclipse  of  faith, 
I  had  to  face  the  spectres  of  the  mind. 

During  the  earlier  part  of  the  time  I  was 
being  trained  for  the  work  of  teaching,  and 
doing  that  work.  Throughout  that  time  I  was 
preaching  on  Sundays,  and  conducting  evangel- 
istic missions  during  holidays. 

In  the  year  1886  I  gave  up  my  work  as  a 
teacher,  and  devoted  myself  wholly  to  evangel- 
istic work.  During  the  later  period,  that  is  for 
the  past  three  and  thirty  years,  I  have  continued 
to  preach.  My  work  has  never  been  Apostolic, 
as  I  understand  that  phase  of  ministry,  and 
as  I  shall  presently  attempt  to  explain  it.  It 
has  been  upon  occasion  Prophetic,  constantly 
Evangelistic,  and  principally  Pastoral  and 
Teaching. 

These  then  are  the  facts  concerning  the  expe- 
riences which  must  aflfect  my  thinking.  I  have 
mentioned  them  now  to  dismiss  them,  having 
recognized  them.  I  trust  they  will  be  as  little 
obvious  as  possible,  and  that  our  consideration 
may  be  wholly  conditioned  within  Biblical  light. 


I 

The  Fundamental  Conceptions 


THE  MINISTRY 

WITHIN  the  phrase  the  "  Ministry  of 
the  Word,"  there  is  included  the 
whole  conception  of  the  work  of 
preaching  as  distinguished  from  that  of  serv- 
ing tables.  It  should  at  once  be  recognized 
that  this  is  a  distinction  which  must  be  made  in 
practice  as  well  as  in  theory;  but  it  is  equally 
important  that  the  distinction  should  be  made 
intelligently,  that  is  with  scriptural  warrant, 
rather  than  on  the  basis  of  prejudice  or  custom. 
It  must  be  made  in  the  interest  of  the  work  of 
preaching,  not  in  that  of  the  preachers.  To  say 
that,  is  simply  to  interpret  at  once  the  meaning 
of  the  Twelve  when  they  took  the  action  which 
set  them  apart  from  their  brethren.  They  were 
not  actuated  by  any  desire  to  create  an  order  of 
superiority  for  themselves,  but  wholly  by  a 
passion  for  the  complete  success  of  the  particu- 
lar work  to  which  they  were  appointed.     The 

19 


20  THE  MINISTRY 

work  of  serving  tables  is  equally  sacred.  This 
is  evident  from  the  apostolic  description  of  the 
character  and  qualifications  of  the  men  who 
were  to  be  appointed  to  that  work.  They  were 
to  be  men  "  of  good  report,  full  of  the  Spirit 
and  of  wisdom."  The  two  orders  of  the  minis- 
try were  not  intended  to  be  conceived  of  as 
higher  and  lower.  They  were  equally  impor- 
tant and  complementary.  The  work  of  each 
was  dependent  for  complete  success  upon  that 
of  the  other.  Deacons  might  also  be  preachers, 
as  we  soon  discover  in  the  case  of  Philip  the 
Evangelist.  The  probability  is  that  in  such  a 
case  the  work  of  the  Diaconate  was  given  up. 
The  story  of  Philip  would  lead  us  to  that  conclu- 
sion. But  even  if  so,  it  was  not  because  the 
work  of  serving  tables  was  not  most  sacred,  but 
because  no  man  could  perfectly  fulfil  the  work 
of  the  service  of  the  Word,  while  occupied  in 
the  doing  of  the  other.  All  this  will  be  even 
more  clearly  seen  as  we  go  forward  with  our 
study. 

Our  first  business  must  be  that  of  attempting 
to  get  these  fundamental  conceptions  clearly 
before  us,  for  in  proportion  as  we  do  so,  we 
shall  be  the  better  prepared  for  the  fuller  con- 
siderations and  applications  which  we  propose. 


THE  MINISTRY  21 

The  two  conceptions  are  suggested  by  the 
terms  "  The  Ministry/'  and  "  The  Word."  The 
second  of  these  reveals  the  central  and  supreme 
matter;  while  the  first  indicates  the  method  by 
which  the  work  is  to  be  accomplished.  We 
shall  devote  a  Lecture  to  each.  The  first,  that 
of  the  revelation  of  method  suggested  by  the 
term  "  The  Ministry,"  is  our  subject  now. 

In  order  to  an  understanding  of  the  funda- 
mental conception  suggested  by  the  term  The 
Ministry,  we  will  first  examine  the  place  which 
the  term  occupies  in  our  paragraph,  and  then 
glance  on  to  the  development  of  the  thought,  as 
it  is  found  in  one  outstanding  passage  in  the 
apostolic  writings. 

Taking  the  Revised  Version,  we  find  three 
words  which  we  will  note;  in  verse  one,  minis- 
tration; in  verse  two,  serve;  and  in  verse  four, 
ministry.  It  will  be  granted  at  once  that  these 
three  words  represent  the  same  idea.  In  the 
Greek  New  Testament  this  is  even  more  appar- 
ent, where  the  words  respectively  are  diakbtiia^ 
diakbnein,  and  diakbnia,  the  first  and  the  last 
being  identical.  The  special  word  of  our  term 
then  is  the  word  diakdmUy  translated  ministration 
in  verse  one,  and  ministry  in  verse  four.  What 
then,  quite  apart  from  any  interpretation  result- 


22  THE  MINISTRY 

ing  from  our  habit  and  custom  in  the  use  of  the 
word,  is  the  first  and  simplest  idea  that  it  sug- 
gests? 

Unquestionably  the  idea  is  that  of  the  work 
of  a  servant,  the  carrying  out  of  responsibility 
under  command.  The  Greek  word  is  derived 
from  the  word  diakonbs^  which  simply  means 
an  attendant,  a  waiter;  which  in  turn  comes 
from  an  obsolete  verb,  diakb,  to  run  on  errands. 
The  simple  thought  then  is  that  of  service  in  the 
most  elemental  sense,  that  of  having  work  ap- 
pointed, and  that  of  doing  that  work  under  mas- 
tery. Let  us  carefully  observe  that  this  idea  is 
never  properly  eliminated,  nor  changed  in  any 
subsequent  use  of  the  word.  That  is  the 
thought  in  the  first  verse.  The  daily  ministra- 
tion was  that  of  the  actual  giving  out,  from  the 
common  fund,  of  the  appointed  portions  to  the 
needy  members  of  the  community.  Obviously 
it  is  equally  the  thought  of  the  word  serve  in  the 
second  verse.  When  the  Apostles  declared 
that  it  was  not  meet  that  they  should  serve 
tables,  they  simply  meant  that  the  urgency  of 
the  work  to  which  they  were  specifically  ap- 
pointed was  such,  that  neither  their  time  nor 
strength  should  be  devoted  to  the  actual  details 
of  calculation  and   disbursement,   which   were 


THE  MINISTRY  23 

necessary  in  order  to  the  maintenance  of  the 
material  aspects  of  the  fellowship, 

I  have  drawn  special  attention  to  these  simple 
and  obvious  facts,  in  order  to  leave  upon  the 
mind  most  definitely  the  true  impression  of  the 
value  of  the  word  ministry,  for  it  is  of  the  ut- 
most importance  that  this  should  never  be  lost 
sight  of.  Whatever  developments  we  may  pres- 
ently have  to  consider,  this  quality  persists. 
The  idea  of  dignity,  or  of  official  importance,  or 
prerogative,  is  entirely  absent  from  the  word 
itself.  Of  course  there  is  a  dignity  in  all  service, 
there  are  prerogatives  which  appertain  to  serv- 
ice ;  but  these  result  from  the  nature  of  the  work 
to  be  done,  and  only  exist  in  order  that  the 
work  may  be  done  thoroughly.  Ministry  con- 
notes subservience,  submission;  and  implicates 
necessarily,  diligence  and  fidelity.  This  is 
clearly  emphasized  in  the  Apostles'  declaration 
that  in  "  the  ministry  of  the  Word  "  they  would 
continue  stedfastly,  the  phrase  being  the  transla- 
tion of  one  word,  which  signifies  an  earnest  de- 
votion to  the  business  in  hand,  a  pushing  for- 
ward with  strength  in  order  to  accomplishment. 

This  conception  obtains  in  reference  to  both 
lines  of  service  recognized  in  the  paragraph 
under  consideration,  that  of  tables,  and  that  of 


24  THE  MINISTRY 

the  Word.  In  eadi  case  the  objective  is  the 
fellowship,  the  koinbnia ;  that  sacred  unity  of 
Christ  with  His  people,  and  their  consequent 
union  with  each  other.  This  fellowship  is  far 
more  than  an  abstract  idea.  It  is  a  living  fact, 
and  is  to  find  expression  in  spiritual  develop- 
ment and  service,  and  in  material  well-being. 
The  tables  are  for  the  carrying  out  of  the  latter ; 
the  Word  is  for  the  realization  of  the  former. 
Hence  the  sacredness  of  the  tables  for  the  prac- 
tice of  fellowship.  Hence  the  sacredness  of  the 
Word  for  the  practice  of  fellowship.  Hence 
also  the  sacredness  of  Ministry,  whether  of 
tables  or  of  the  Word. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  fundamental  conception 
is  that  of  diligent  faithful  devotion  to  an  ap- 
pointed work.  Apart  from  that,  there  is  neither 
dignity  nor  privilege  attached  to  the  work  of 
Ministry.  All  this,  I  repeat,  must  never  for  a 
moment  be  lost  sight  of  in  our  consideration  of 
The  Ministry  of  the  Word,  and  much  less  in  our 
exercise  thereof. 

We  may  now  proceed  to  consider  a  develop- 
ment of  the  idea  found  in  one  outstanding  pas- 
sage in  the  apostolic  writings.  Before  doing  so 
however,  and  even  at  the  risk  of  being  charged 
with  unnecessary  repetition,  let  me  insist  upon 


THE  MINISTRY  25 

it,  that  development  does  not  mean  destruction 
or  change.  It  is  rather  the  evolution  of  that 
vi^hich  is  involved,  the  application  of  a  persistent 
principle  to  the  supreme  necessities  of  the  work. 
In  the  central  idea  of  ministry  with  which  we 
have  been  dealing,  there  is  no  development,  nor 
can  there  be.  Whatever  the  phase  of  ministry, 
it  always  remains  ministry,  in  the  simplest  and 
therefore  the  final  senses  of  the  word.  The  de- 
velopment is  in  the  method  by  which  service  is 
rendered,  and  in  its  application  to  certain  as- 
pects of  the  one  work. 

The  passage  in  which  this  development  is 
most  fully  dealt  with  in  the  New  Testament  is 
found  in  Paul's  letter  to  the  Ephesians  (Eph.  iv. 
1-13).  Let  us  first  take  a  broad  view  of  the 
passage,  and  then  observe  its  particular  revela- 
tion on  this  subject  of  ministry. 

The  passage  opens  the  second  part  of  the 
letter,  that  in  which  the  Apostle  applied  the 
truths  already  enunciated,  to  the  walk  or  be- 
haviour of  those  to  whom  he  was  writing.  The 
keynote  of  the  whole  of  this  second  section  is 
found  in  the  words ;  "  I  .  .  .  beseech  you  to 
walk  worthily  of  the  calling  wherewith  we  were 
called."  In  order  to  this,  and  as  the  first  condi- 
tion of  doing  so,  he  urged  them  *'  to  keep  the 


26  THE  MINISTRY 

unity  of  the  Spirit."  This  led  him  to  write  the 
passage  in  which  that  unity  is  so  graphically  set 
forth,  and  in  the  midst  of  which  we  find  the  idea 
of  Ministry  so  fully  developed. 

In  verses  four,  five,  and  six,  we  have  a  vision 
of  the  unity  in  itself.  The  organism  is  first  de- 
scribed; "One  body,  and  one  Spirit,  even  as 
also  ye  were  called  in  one  hope  of  your  calling." 
That  is  an  inclusive  description  of  the  Church. 
It  is  one  Body,  Christ  Himself  being  the  Head, 
and  all  who  share  His  life  being  members.  His 
Body  therefore  has  one  life,  that  of  the  Spirit, 
Who  is  in  the  Head,  and  in  the  members,  and 
thus  unifies  them  in  mind,  and  heart,  and  will, 
and  power.  This  organism  has  one  function, 
that  of  fulfilling  the  calling  which  the  Apostle 
had  described  in  the  earlier  part  of  his  letter. 

Next  in  order,  and  in  the  briefest  but  most 
pregnant  phrases,  we  have  an  account  of  the 
generation  of  that  organism ;  "  One  Lord,  one 
faith,  one  baptism."  The  one  Lord  is  Christ, 
as  in  the  perfections  of  His  Priesthood  and 
Kingship,  He  is  presented  in  the  Gospel  to  the 
eye  of  men.  The  one  faith  is  that  of  the  repent- 
ing submission,  and  complete  confidence,  by 
which  men  yield  themselves  to  Him  as  Saviour 
and  JUord.     The  one  baptism  is  that  of  the  Holy 


THE  MINISTRY  27 

Spirit,  which  is  the  Divine  response  to  human 
faith,  and  by  which  those  who  receive  it  are 
included  in  the  Body  whose  function  is  that  of 
the  Divine  caUing. 

Finally,  the  ultimate  and  resulting  relation  is 
described  in  the  words;  "  One  God  and  Father 
of  all.  Who  is  over  all,  and  through  all,  and  in 
all."  The  all  refers  in  each  case  to  the  Head 
and  members  of  the  Body,  that  is  to  Christ  and 
all  believers;  while  the  prepositions  mark  the 
different  phases  of  relationship;  the  of  is  in- 
clusive, the  over  marks  sovereignty,  the  through 
signifies  operation,  and  the  in  indicates  com- 
munion. 

Following  this  vision  of  the  unity,  there  is 
a  description  of  the  growth  of  the  organism, 
which  occupies  verses  seven  to  thirteen.  For 
the  purposes  of  our  present  consideration  we 
need  only  note  the  main  statement  which  is  dis- 
covered as  we  bring  the  seventh  and  thirteenth 
verses  together;  "  Unto  each  one  of  us  was  the 
grace  given  according  to  the  measure  of  the  gift 
of  Christ  .  .  .  till  we  all  attain  unto  the  unity 
of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of 
God,  unto  a  full-grown  man,  unto  the  measure 
of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ." 

A   careful   examination   of   the   passage   will 


28  THE  MINISTRY 

show  that  this  bringing  together  of  these  verses 
is  perfectly  justified.  All  that  lies  between  is  of 
the  nature  of  exposition  of  the  phrase  "  the  gift 
of  Christ."  The  method  of  growth  is  that  of 
the  development  of  the  gift  of  grace  given  to 
each  member,  in  its  relationship  to  the  gifts  of 
grace  bestowed  on  all  the  rest.  As  all  these  are 
received  and  become  operative,  the  whole  Body 
grows  towards  its  completion,  towards  the 
*'  full-grown  man,"  towards  *'  the  measure  of 
the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ."  Neither 
of  these  latter  phrases  applies  to  an  individual 
Christian,  but  to  the  complete  and  perfected 
Church,  which  alone  can  realize  ''  the  stature 
of  the  fulness  of  Christ." 

This  brings  us  to  the  matter  specially  perti- 
nent to  our  present  consideration,  that  namely 
of  Ministry.  It  is  dealt  with  in  the  verses  eight 
to  twelve  to  which  we  have  already  referred  as 
being  expository  of  the  phrase  in  the  seventh 
verse,  "  the  gift  of  Christ." 

Having  declared  by  quotation  from  the 
Psalms,  that  when  Christ  "  ascended  on  high 
He  led  captivity  captive,  and  gave  gifts  unto 
men";  and  in  a  parenthesis  having  declared 
that  His  ascension  followed  His  descension,  and 
was  an  ascension  to  the  place  of  supreme  au- 


THE  MINISTRY  29 

thority,  for  the  purpose  of  filling  all  things; — 
the  Apostle  proceeded  to  speak  of  the  gifts  He 
bestows,  and  to  declare  their  purpose.  Let  us 
first  notice  the  purpose.  It  is  stated  in  the 
twelfth  verse ;  "  For  the  perfecting  of  the  saints 
unto  the  work  of  ministering,  unto  the  building 
up  of  the  Body  of  Christ."  Thus  the  gifts  be- 
stowed were  in  order  to  perfect  the  saints,  in 
order  that  they — the  saints — might  fulfil  the 
work  of  ministering.  In  that  is  included  both 
the  ministry  of  tables  and  of  the  Word,  in  so 
far  as  these  are  necessary  to  the  buildmg  up  of 
the  body  of  Christ;  and  necessarily  also  that 
larger  ministry  which  is  the  special  vocation  of 
the  Church  both  here  and  in  the  ages  to 
come. 

It  is  of  vital  importance  that  we  recognize 
that  the  full  ministry  of  the  Church  can  only  be 
fulfilled  by  the  whole  Church,  as  that  Church 
consists  in  the  unity  of  Christ  with  His  mem- 
bers. Nevertheless  in  order  that  the  Church 
may  fulfil  that  ministry,  there  is  a  ministry 
within  her  organic  life,  which  is  created  by  gifts 
which  the  Head  bestows  by  the  Spirit,  to  quote 
from  another  of  Paul's  letters,  ''  dividing  to 
each  one  severally  even  as  He  will." 

These  gifts  are  those  of  Apostles,  Prophets, 


30  THE  MINISTRY 

Evangelists,  and  Pastors  and  Teachers.  These 
are  all  in  the  Ministry  of  the  Word. 

When  we  come  to  consider  more  fully  the 
primitive  Ideal  these  will  be  dealt  with  more 
particularly.  For  the  present  study  a  general 
survey  of  the  ground  will  be  sufftcient.  The 
words  themselves  are  suggestive,  and  may  well 
be  examined  quite  simply.  The  word  Apostle 
is  usually  said  to  mean  one  who  is  sent.  As  a 
matter  of  fact  its  first  meaning  is  that  of  being 
set  apart.  This  we  shall  consider  more  particu- 
larly later.  The  word,  as  it  was  commonly 
used,  referred  to  a  delegate,  an  ambassador. 
Luke  tells  us  that  our  Lord  definitely  selected 
the  name  for  the  Twelve,  when  He  selected 
them.  The  word  Prophet  means  a  fore-teller, 
only  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  prefix  fore 
has  the  sense  of  "  in  front  of,"  and  refers  to 
place  as  well  as  time.  The  word  Evangelist 
simply  means  one  who  tells  good  news.  The 
final  gift  is  indicated  by  the  use  of  two  words. 
Shepherd  and  Teacher,  thus  signifying  a  double 
function;  the  first  in  the  realm  of  life,  oversight, 
and  sustenance;  the  second  in  the  realm  of 
knowledge,  that  of  making  known. 

Such  are  the  gifts,  and  they  are  all  bestowed 
by  the  Head  of  the  Church  according  to  the 


THE  MINISTRY  31 

good  pleasure  of  His  wisdom.  The  exercise  of 
these  gifts  may  now  be  described  with  equal 
brevity,  and  so  the  subject  be  reserved  for 
fuller  treatment. 

The  Apostle  deals  with  the  whole  body  of 
Truth.  He  has  to  state  it,  to  systematize  it,  to 
make  it  available  to  the  saints,  in  order  to  their 
guidance  and  sustenance. 

The  Prophet  has  to  make  the  light  of  Truth 
shine  in  front  of  men.  He  is  a  man  of  Light 
and  of  Law. 

The  Evangelist  has  to  apply  the  aspects  of 
Truth  which  inspire  hope.  He  declares  the 
facts  of  the  Evangel.  He  is  a  man  of  Life  and 
Love. 

The  Pastor  and  Teacher  receives  the  obedi- 
ent, shepherds  and  instructs  them  in  all  the 
things  of  their  life  and  service. 

It  is  quite  evident  that  these  were  separate 
gifts,  but  those  receiving  them  were  all  called 
to  Ministry,  and  once  again  the  word  must  in 
each  case  be  interpreted  by  the  values  which  we 
discussed  at  the  beginning. 

A  question  arises  as  to  whether  these  various 
gifts  are  ever  merged  in  the  experience  of  one 
man.  We  must  not  dogmatize,  but  personally 
I  think  they  rarely  are.     They  are  sometimes 


32  THE  MINISTRY 

changed  in  the  course  of  a  Hfe-work.  The  busi- 
ness of  every  man  is  to  define  his  gift,  and  then 
to  make  full  proof  of  his  ministry  in  its  use. 
When  this  is  done,  the  gifts  are  never  in  conflict, 
but  make  up  a  perfect  cooperation  of  service. 

Thus  then  it  is  seen  that  the  fundamental  con- 
ception of  ministry  v^ithin  the  Christian  Church 
is  that  of  service  rendered  in  obedience  to  au- 
thority. This  is  equally  true  of  the  ministry  of 
the  v^hole  Church,  the  ministry  of  Tables,  and 
the  ministry  of  the  Word.  Ministry  is  made 
possible  by  the  bestowment  of  gifts  by  the  One 
under  Whose  authority  it  is  carried  out. 

Ministers  then  in  every  case,  and  so  in  that 
of  the  preaching  of  the  Word,  are  servants  of 
Christ.  They  owe  to  Him  absolute  and  uncon- 
ditioned allegiance.  Therefore  they  are  serv- 
ants to  none  other,  in  the  sense  of  submission 
to  authority.  They  become  servants  of  all,  in 
the  sense  of  doing  their  v^ork  on  behalf  of 
others.  This  is  involved  in  the  fact  that  they 
are  the  servants  of  Christ,  Who  said  of  Himself; 
"  The  Son  of  man  came  not  to  be  ministered 
unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  His  life  a  ran- 
som for  many."  They  take  their  orders  only 
from  Him,  but  those  orders  are  ever  such  as 
compel  them  to  serve  the  highest  interests  of 


THE  MINISTRY  33 

others,  while  emptying  themselves  in  the  sacred 
work. 

The  conception  of  ministry  then  is  full  of 
heavenly  dignity,  but  it  is  ever  the  dignity  of 
self-emptying,  and  never  that  of  self-aggrandize- 
ment. The  minister  of  Christ  is  careless  as  to 
the  opinion  of  all  save  his  Lord,  but  he  is  full  of 
care  for  the  welfare  of  all  those  loved  of  his 
Lord. 

In  the  secret  place  of  his  fellowship  with  his 
Lord,  he  will  ever  submit  himself  with  all  lowli- 
ness of  mind,  loyalty  of  heart,  and  submissive- 
ness  of  will,  in  order  that  he  may  discover 
exactly  what  he  is  to  say,  where  he  is  to  go, 
and  what  he  is  to  do.  Then,  as  he  passes  out  to 
obey  those  behests  of  his  Master,  he  will  do  so 
without  fear  or  faltering,  in  a  consciousness  of 
complete  authority,  and  in  the  very  spirit  and 
behaviour  of  that  gracious  and  unfathomable 
love,  which  is  the  inspiration  of  the  authority 
under  which  he  serves. 


B 

THE  WORD 

WE  now  come  to  the  consideration  of 
the  second  of  the  fundamental  con- 
ceptions as  it  is  suggested  by  the 
term  "  The  Word."  Here  we  are  at  once  con- 
scious of  the  necessity  for  the  most  careful  atten- 
tion. This  term, ''  The  Word  of  God,"  is  in  com- 
mon use  to-day.  Sometimes  it  is  employed  with 
evident  spiritual  discernment;  often  I  fear  it 
must  be  said  with  great  carelessness;  and  for 
the  most  part,  even  by  devout  souls,  with  scant 
knowledge.  We  constantly  hear  the  Bible 
spoken  of  as  the  Word  of  God.  Let  me  at  once 
say  that  I  am  not  for  a  moment  suggesting  that 
this  is  an  improper  designation,  but  I  am  sure 
that  the  significance  of  the  term  is  not  under- 
stood by  many  who  thus  employ  it  Ask  them 
in  what  sense  the  Bible  is  the  Word  of  God,  or 
how  it  happens  that  it  is  the  Word  of  God,  or 
what  they  mean  when  they  call  it  the  Word  of 

34 


THE  WORD  35 

God;  and  their  answers,  constantly  devout  in 
intention,  are,  alas,  often  lamentably  ignorant 
in  statement.  We  at  once  assume  that  our 
phrase,  "  The  Word,"  is  a  satisfactory  abbrevia- 
tion of  this  larger  phrase,  "  The  Word  of  God." 
It  undoubtedly  v^^as  so  in  the  instance  which  we 
have  considered.  When  the  Apostles  declared 
that  they  would  give  themselves  to  the  ministry 
of  the  Word,  they  referred  to  the  Word  of  God. 
What  then,  we  inquire,  is  the  Biblical  interpre- 
tation of  the  phrase?  For  answer  to  that  in- 
quiry we  shall  first  glance  at  the  general  Biblical 
use  of  the  term,  and  then  examine  one  out- 
standing passage  of  interpretation. 

In  the  Old  Testament  the  term  which  is  the 
equivalent  of  Logos  in  the  New,  is  Ddhdr.  A 
glance  at  a  Hebrew  Lexicon  will  show  the  per- 
sistence of  this  term  in  the  Scriptures  of  the 
Hebrew  people.  The  word  means  quite  simply 
a  matter  as  spoken  of;  not  the  matter  only,  not 
the  speaking  alone,  but  the  truth  as  uttered. 
We  shall  see  presently  how  near  akin  is  the 
idea  of  the  word  to  the  simple  meaning  of  the 
Greek  word  Lxfgos.  This  word  Ddbdr  occurs 
constantly  in  connection  with  the  name  of  God, 
and  so  we  find  the  perpetually  recurring  for- 
mula, "  the  Word  of  the  Lord."  The  claim  of  the 


36  THE  WORD 

prophets  to  authority  was  persistently  based  on 
the  declaration,  "  the  Word  of  the  Lord  came." 
To  these  Hebrew  thinkers  that  which  they  so 
described  was  Wisdom.  Their  philosophies  did 
not  begin  by  the  asking  of  a  question,  but  by 
the  affirmation  of  God,  and  of  His  essential  Wis- 
dom. The  Word  of  the  Lord  to  them  was  that 
Wisdom,  as  He  uttered  it,  or  made  it  known. 

When  we  turn  to  the  New  Testament  we  find 
that  every  writer  uses  the  term  Ldgos  in  some 
form.  It  was  especially  the  term  of  three  of 
them,  namely  Luke,  Paul,  and  John.  It  is  at 
least  interesting  to  observe  in  passing  that  Luke 
employed  it  seventy-four  times,  Paul  fifty-six, 
and  John  forty-three.  That  I  recognize  is  a 
very  mechanical  statement,  but  it  has  its  value. 
Their  use  shows  that  the  intention  of  the  word 
is  an  almost  exact  equivalent  of  that  of  the 
Hebrew  Ddhdr;  a  matter,  or  truth,  as  uttered. 
The  outstanding  passage  of  interpretation  to 
which  I  refer  is  of  course  that  of  the  prologue  to 
the  Gospel  according  to  John,  and  to  that  we 
shall  return  immediately. 

Let  us  tarry  for  a  few  moments,  at  least,  with 
the  term  itself.  In  this  connection  it  is  inter- 
esting to  observe  certain  facts  about  the  three 
writers  to  whom  we  have  referred.     Luke  was 


THE  WORD  37 

himself  a  Greek,  and  undoubtedly  influenced  by 
the  methods  of  Greek  thought.  Paul  was  a 
Hebrew,  but  educated  Hellenistically.  John 
was  in  my  judgment  evidently  profoundly  in- 
fluenced, ere  he  wrote  his  Gospel  by  Philo.  All 
of  them  were  perfectly  familiar  with  the  term  as 
then  employed. 

In  the  early  Greek  philosophies  the  term 
Logds  stood  for  the  rational  principle  of  the 
universe,  the  word  meaning  an  expression  of 
thought,  and  the  thought  so  expressed;  never 
the  one  without  the  other.  Philo  definitely 
used  the  term  as  referring  to  God's  revelation  of 
Himself.  The  distinction  between  Philo  and 
John  was  that  Philo  never  thought  or  spoke  of 
it  as  "  made  flesh."  John  used  it  in  exactly  the 
same  way  as  Philo,  always  including  that  deep- 
est conception,  that  the  Word  was  not  only  the 
method  of  revelation,  but  also  the  matter  re- 
vealed; but  his  central  declaration  was  that 
"  The  Word  was  made  flesh."  In  stating  it, 
however,  he  never  detracted  in  any  way  from 
the  values  of  the  eternal  and  spiritual  concep- 
tion. In  other  words,  he  did  not  qualify  Christ 
by  Philo,  but  rather  fulfilled  Philo  by  Christ. 

Now  let  us  proceed  to  consider  as  far  as  we 
are  able,  the  full  content  of  the  phrase,  "  The 


38  THE  WORD 

Word,"  to  the  ministry  of  which  these  men  gave 
themselves.  This  we  will  do  by  glancing  at 
John's  passage;  and  by  a  statement  based  upon 
the  BibUcal  conceptions. 

The  scope  of  these  Lectures  does  not  neces- 
sitate more  than  a  glance  at  John's  prologue. 
A  matter  of  supreme  importance  however  is, 
that  the  mind  should  be  kept  upon  the  per- 
sistence of  the  thought  of  "  the  Word  "  through- 
out that  prologue.  The  thought  ascends  from 
the  abstract  idea  to  that  of  personality.  For 
us,  all  the  values  are  resident  in  the  Person. 
That  Person  is  seen  in  different  relationships, 
but  the  identity  does  not  change.  He  is  vari- 
ously "  the  Word,"  "  the  Only-begotten  from 
the  Father,"  "Jesus  Christ,"  "  the  only-begotten 
Son  ";  but  these  descriptions  apply  to  the  same 
supreme  matter,  or  to  the  same  Person.  In 
the  course  of  the  prologue,  the  Word  is  revealed 
in  cosmic  relationships;  in  relation  to  God;  in 
relation  to  the  whole  creation ;  in  relation  to  the 
processes  of  redemption;  in  relation  to  in- 
dividual souls.  But  throughout,  the  Word  is  a 
Person;  and  the  Person  is  the  Word.  The 
Person  Who  is  the  Word  is  seen  in  two  princi- 
pal relations,  which  may  be  described  as  eternal 
and   temporal.     This   may   best  be   shown   by 


THE  WORD  39 

bringing  together  verses  one  and  fourteen,  and 
setting  the  three  declarations  of  the  one  over 
against  the  three  of  the  other; 


"In  the  beginning  was  the    "The  Word  became  flesh; 

Word." 
"  The  Word  was  with  God."  "  Dwelt  among  us." 
"  The  Word  was  God."  "  Full  of  grace  and  truth." 


Thus  the  Word,  according  to  John,  is  funda- 
mental and  eternal  Grace  and  Truth,  for  ever 
with  God,  and  very  God;  but  revealed  in  human 
nature,  and  so  resident  among  the  sons  of  men 
for  their  illumination  and  salvation. 

This  is  the  exhaustive  statement  of  the  ex- 
haustless  fact,  to  the  service  of  which  all  those 
are  devoted  who  are  in  "  the  Ministry  of  the 
Word."  It  is  necessary  however  that  we  should 
seek  some  more  detailed  explanation  of  the  con- 
ception, if  we  are  to  fulfil  that  ministry,  and 
therefore  we  shall  attempt  to  make  a  statement, 
which  will  carry  us  no  farther;  but  may  help  us 
to  a  working  understanding  of  the  most  glori- 
ous truth. 

When  we  speak  of  the  Word  then,  we  employ 
an  inclusive  term,  which  has  a  fourfold  value. 
I  will  state  the  four  aspects,  and  then  briefly 
consider  each  in  separation. 


40  THE  WORD 

The  Word  is  Grace  and  Truth,  essentially, 
absolutely;  and  in  their  relation  to  all  things. 

The  Word  is  that  Expression  of  Grace  and 
Truth,  which  makes  them  comprehensible. 

The  Word  is  the  Record  of  the  Expression 
of  Grace  and  Truth;  which  Record  is  at  once 
the  germ  and  norm  of  interpretation. 

The  Word  is  the  Interpretation  of  the  Record 
of  the  Expression  of  Grace  and  Truth,  as  they, 
through  it,  progressively  unfold  their  meanings, 
and  urge  their  claims. 

This  brief  summary  will  at  once  help  us  to 
recognize  the  spacious  glory  of  that,  to  the 
service  of  which,  we  are  called.  As  a  summary 
it  is  bare  and  cold,  and  that  almost  necessarily. 
All  the  manifold  colours  of  the  infinite  glory 
of  the  Eternal  God  are  merged  in  the  phrase 
The  Word  of  God.  Who  then  can  hope  to  be 
successful  in  definition?  Nevertheless  the 
merging  of  those  colours  is  Light,  and  Light 
finally  reveals  all  things  except  itself.  In  light, 
I  can  look  at  everything  except  light.  If  any- 
one doubts  the  accuracy  of  that  statement,  let 
him  look  at  the  world  in  the  light  of  the  sun, 
and  then  endeavour  to  look  at  the  sun.  The 
only  way  of  seeing  it,  is  through  a  glass  dark- 
ened.    Our  summary  is  of  the  nature  of  that 


THE  WORD  41 

darkened  glass.  If  it  helps  to  a  conception  of 
the  glory  of  the  Word  of  God,  it  will  serve  our 
purpose. 

The  Word  is  Grace  and  Truth  essentially. 
This  is  the  sense  in  which  the  expression  is 
used  in  the  first  sentences  in  the  prologue  of 
John.  "  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and 
the  Word  was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was 
God."  The  reference  is  to  the  fact  in  its 
entirety,  to  Grace  and  Truth  in  a  unity  which 
is  complete  in  itself.  In  that  sense  the  Word 
is  the  sum  total  of  Wisdom.  In  its  inclusive 
potentiality  it  is  all  strength,  that  is  the  Truth 
of  it;  and  all  beauty,  that  is  the  Grace  of  it. 
That  moreover  is  the  full  glory  of  the  Father. 
Of  the  Person,  John  said;  "We  beheld  His 
glory,  glory  as  of  an  only-begotten  from  a 
father,  full  of  grace  and  truth."  The  reference 
in  the  exposition  which  follows  is  to  the  rela- 
tion of  this  eternal  fact  to  phenomena.  Phe- 
nomena are  things  of  sight,  things  that  appear, 
as  Noumena  are  things  of  the  mind.  This  was 
the  thought  of  the  writer  of  the  letter  to  the 
Hebrews  in  the  words :  "  What  is  seen  hath 
not  been  made  out  of  things  which  do  appear." 
In  other  words,  phenomena  are  the  result  and 
demonstration,     not    of    phenomena,    but    of 


42  THE  WORD 

noumena;  not  of  things  which  do  appear,  but 
of  things  not  seen.  "  The  ages  " — which  ap- 
pear— "  have  been  fashioned  by  the  Word  of 
God  " — which  essentially  is  of  the  mind.  The 
Word  of  God  therefore  is  the  reason  or  meaning 
of  things.  There  is  nothing  unrelated  thereto. 
Everything  is  tested  by  it;  and  is  known  as 
true  or  false,  good  or  bad,  beautiful  or  ugly, 
wise  or  ignorant,  by  that  abiding  and  unchange- 
able standard.  That  is  the  ultimate  definition 
of  the  Word  of  God,  and  every  other  phase  of 
meaning  is  related  to  it,  and  so  gathers  force 
and  value  from  it. 

In  the  second  place,  the  Word  of  God  is  the 
expression  of  Grace  and  Truth.  That  is  the 
sense  in  which  the  term  is  used  in  the  second 
great  statement  in  the  prologue  of  John;  "  The 
Word  became  flesh  .  .  .  and  dwelt  among 
us  .  .  .  full  of  grace  and  truth  " ;  and  also 
in  the  phrase  employed  by  Luke  in  his  prologue, 
"  eye-witnesses  and  ministers  of  the  Word." 
That  is  the  sense  of  the  declarations  with  which 
the  letter  to  the  Hebrews  opens,  where  the  term 
does  not  occur,  but  where  the  thought  is  pres- 
ent, "  God  .  .  .  hath  .  .  .  spoken  unto 
us  in  His  Son."  The  idea  is  that  of  giving  such 
form  to  the  eternal  facts  as  will  bring  them 


THE  WORD  43 

within  the  compass  of  finite  intelligence.  In 
God  they  are  infinite,  and  so  they  can  only  be 
known  to  God.  If  they  are  to  be  known  to  men 
they  must  be  expressed.  According  to  Biblical 
conceptions,  this  work  of  finding  the  form  of 
expression  is  always  that  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
One  of  the  most  remarkable  and  illuminative 
passages  in  the  Bible  on  that  subject  is  found 
in  Paul's  first  letter  to  the  Corinthians  (ii.  10, 
11) ;  "  Unto  us  God  revealed  them  through  the 
Spirit,  for  the  Spirit  searcheth  all  things,  yea, 
the  deep  things  of  God.  .  .  .  The  things  of 
God  none  knoweth  save  the  Spirit  of  God." 
Whenever  then  the  Word  is  to  be  expressed,  it 
must  be  through  the  instrumentality  of  the 
Spirit. 

In  the  opening  sentences  of  the  letter  to  the 
Hebrews,  already  referred  to,  the  two  methods 
by  which  the  Word  has  found  expression 
through  this  instrumentality  of  the  Spirit  are 
declared.  In  the  past,  God  spoke  to  the  fathers 
in  the  prophets,  by  divers  portions  and  in  divers 
manners.  That  is  a  most  inclusive  reference. 
Every  aspect  of  truth  made  known,  every  gleam 
of  grace  outshining,  all  portions  of  the  essential 
and  eternal  whole  of  the  Word,  came  as  God 
spoke.     This  He  did  in  many  manners;  some- 


44  THE  WORD 

times  by  direct  and  mystic  communication  with 
the  soul;  sometimes  by  clear  and  unmistakable 
interpretation  of  the  events  in  the  midst  of 
which  men  lived;  sometimes  by  lifting  the  soul 
into  a  realm  of  high  exaltation,  in  which,  ap- 
parently out  of  its  own  consciousness,  it  uttered 
songs  of  revealing  and  amazing  beauty.  By 
these  and  many  other  methods,  the  Spirit  gave 
form  and  expression  to  the  eternal  Word  as 
men  were  able  to  bear  it. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  method 
was  not  confined  to  the  Hebrew  people,  al- 
though in  them  it  had  its  great  centre  and  most 
direct  glory.  There  are  many  gleams  of  Grace 
and  Truth  in  pagan  Hterature.  We  do  not  need 
to  turn  to  them  however,  for  there  is  nothing  in 
them  not  to  be  found  in  the  literature  which,  as 
we  shall  presently  ?ee,  God  created  in  a  peculiar 
way,  not  for  the  Hebrew  people  only,  but  for 
humanity. 

The  second  part  of  the  opening  passage  of 
the  Hebrew  letter  tells  of  the  central  and  final 
method  by  which  the  Word  is  expressed; 
"  God  .  .  .  hath  .  .  .  spoken  unto  us  in 
His  Son.'*  That  is  but  another  way  of  ex- 
pressing the  fact  which  John  expressed  in  the 
words,  "  The  Word  was  made  flesh."     By  in- 


THE  WORD  45 

carnation,  the  Word  found  its  inclusive  and 
perfect  expression  for  man.  In  the  Being  of 
Jesus,  through  His  Person,  through  His  speech, 
and  finally  through  the  exodus  He  accom- 
pHshed, — by  the  Cross,  the  resurrection,  and 
the  ascension, — all  of  Grace  and  Truth  which 
man  needs  to  know,  or  can  know,  found  full  and 
final  expression. 

In  relation  to  that,  it  is  well  at  once  to 
say  that  the  expression  was  far  more  wonderful 
than  man  has  yet  discovered.  His  understand- 
ing of  it  is  gradual  and  progressive;  and  hence 
arises  the  necessity  for  the  other  phases  of  the 
Word  to  which  we  shall  presently  refer.  Sufftce 
it  now  for  us  to  recognize  the  fact  that  the 
Word  of  God  incarnate  includes  all  the  divers 
portions  of  the  past;  all  the  much  more,  which 
we  have  already  apprehended;  and  still  very 
much  more,  which  we  have  yet  to  apprehend. 
Indeed,  in  a  mystery  far  transcending  our  pow- 
ers of  explanation,  so  complete  is  the  expression 
of  the  eternal  Word  in  the  Son  of  God,  that 
Paul  could  only  express  his  sense  of  it  by  in- 
clusively declaring;  "In  Him  dwelleth  all  the 
fulness  of  the  Godhead  corporeally." 

Thirdly  then,  the  Word  is  the  record  of  the 
expression  of  Grace  and  Truth.     In  order  that 


46  THE  WORD 

men  might  know  and  profit  by  the  Speech  of 
God,  whether  in  the  divers  portions  and  man- 
ners of  the  past,  or  in  the  Son,  it  was  necessary 
that  the  expressions  should  be  preserved  in  such 
form  that  they  might  be  at  the  disposal  of  men 
for  all  time.  This  was  accomplished  in  the 
sacred  Scriptures.  In  the  second  letter  of 
Peter,  we  have  a  statement  which  reveals,  so 
far  as  it  is  possible,  the  method  by  which  these 
writings  were  produced  (i.  21) ;  "  Men  spake 
from  God,  being  borne  along  by  the  Holy 
Spirit."  In  that  statement  we  discover  the 
natural  and  supernatural  elements.  Men  spake 
from  God.  That  is  natural  in  the  highest  sense 
of  the  word.  As  they  spake,  in  their  own  lan- 
guages, in  conformity  with  their  own  mental 
powers,  influenced  by  their  own  surroundings, 
so  also  they  wrote.  But  they  were  borne  along 
by  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  figure  is  that  of  a 
vessel  with  all  sails  stretched  to  the  winds,  and 
carried  out  beyond  all  the  limitations  which 
hold  it,  apart  from  that  action  of  the  wind,  into 
the  deeps.  So  these  men,  speaking  and  writing 
with  all  the  simplicity  of  a  perfect  naturalness, 
were  supernaturally  guided  into  the  most  pro- 
found deeps;  being  thus  inspired  to  say  and 
write  what   should   be   said   and  written,   and 


THE  WORD  47 

equally  to  omit  the  things  which  should  be 
omitted.  The  result  of  this  method,  at  once 
human  and  Divine,  we  have  in  our  Bible.  The 
Old  Testament  is  the  inspired  literature  of  need, 
inquiry,  hope;  while  the  New  is  that  of  supply, 
response,  possession.  To  deal  with  human 
need  the  Old  Testament  is  necessary.  To  deal 
with  God's  answer  the  New  is  essential. 

The  value  of  this  phase  of  the  Word  is  that 
in  these  records  of  the  expressions  of  the  eternal 
Word  of  Grace  and  Truth,  we  have  at  once  the 
germ  and  the  norm  of  all  revelation.  We  have 
the  germ,  waiting  for  interpretation,  develop- 
ment, and  persistent  and  progressive  applica- 
tion. But  we  have  the  norm  also,  by  which 
we  test  our  speculations,  theories,  investiga- 
tions. This  is  of  central  importance  in  the 
matter  of  our  Christology.  It  is  always  peril- 
ous to  attempt  any  other  explanation  of  Him 
tha  \  that  which  adheres  closely  to  the  records. 
By  so  doing  we  inevitably  sooner  or  later  des- 
troy Him,  and  proceed  to  the  proclamation  of 
a  creature  of  our  own  futile  speculations,  rather 
than  the  Christ  of  God. 

But  there  is  yet  another  phase  of  meaning 
in  the  term  "  the  Word  of  God."  It  is  that  of 
the  persistent  and  ever  growing  interpretation 


48  THE  WORD 

of  the  records  to  which  we  have  already  inci- 
dentally referred.  This  also  is  of  the  Spirit  of 
God,  and  as  surely  Divine  and  actual  as  any- 
thing with  which  we  have  already  dealt.  The 
Holy  Spirit  is  ever  available  to  those  called  to 
the  ministry  of  the  Word,  in  order  to  its  ex- 
planation and  application.  The  laws  of  the 
Spirit  must  be  observed,  and  then  He  will 
definitely,  immediately,  and  accurately,  explain 
and  interpret  the  writings.  Thus  the  Word  of 
God  is  still  living  and  powerful. 

But  more.  Because  the  Word  must  ever  be 
incarnate  in  order  to  the  illumination  and  saving 
of  men,  and  because  the  saints  are  called  upon 
to  be  witnesses,  living  epistles,  the  Spirit 
energizes  the  will,  and  enables  the  life,  and  thus 
all  who  obey  become  revelations  of  Grace  and 
Truth. 

This  then  is  the  Word,  to  the  ministry  of 
which  we  are  called.  To  roughly  summarize. 
The  Word  is  eternal  Grace  and  Truth;  Grace 
and  Truth  expressed;  the  records  of  the  ex- 
pression of  Grace  and  Truth;  and  the  living 
interpretation  of  the  records  of  the  expression 
of  Grace  and  Truth. 

If  this  examination  of  the  fundamental  con- 
ception enshrined  in  the  phrase,  "  The  Word/* 


THE  WORD  49 

be  lacking  in  many  ways,  as  it  certainly  is,  it 
does,  at  least  I  submit,  help  us  to  realize  some- 
thing of  the  vastness  and  glory  of  the  service 
to  which  those  are  called  who  enter  upon  "  the 
Ministry  of  the  Word." 

Because  the  Word  of  God  is  the  full  and 
final  wisdom,  there  can  be  nothing  outside  its 
sphere.  The  whole  sum  of  things  in  God,  and 
in  His  creation,  are  conditioned  within  that 
infinite  wisdom.  Because  the  Word  of  God  is 
the  expression  of  that  Wisdom  so  that  men 
may  know  it,  it  has  something  to  say  on  every 
subject. 

The  ministry  of  the  Word  then,  is  only 
limited  by  the  instrument,  and  by  the  will  of 
God.  The  final  thing  can  never  be  uttered  by 
any  one  man.  The  whole  of  the  Truth  can 
never  be  expressed  in  any  human  system  of 
philosophy  or  theology.     It  is  indeed, 

"A  deep,  where  all  our  thoughts  are  drowned." 

Nevertheless,  because  the  Word  of  God  is 
an  expression  of  that  ultimate  wisdom,  those 
who  are  in  its  ministry  have  something  intelli- 
gible to  say.  They  are  interpreters,  and  the 
things  they  are  called  upon  to  say  will  ever 
be  such,  that  those  to  whom  they  speak  will 


50  THE  WORD 

apprehend  their  meaning;  and  in  doing  so,  will 
be  including  far  more  than  at  the  given  moment 
they  know,  and  thus  be  preparing  accurately  for 
that  growth  in  knowledge  which  must  ever  be 
the  experience  of  those  who  listen  to  the  things 
of  God. 

Thus  I  would  fain  leave  on  the  mind  the 
impression  of  the  stupendous  and  overwhelm- 
ing greatness  and  grandeur  of  the  work  of 
"  The  Ministry  of  the  Word."  In  that  Word 
there  is  a  simplicity  so  gracious,  that  children 
will  receive  its  teaching  with  gladness;  and  a 
fulness  so  profound,  that  sages  will  ever  feel 
their  comparative  folly  in  contemplation.  For 
us  the  Word  is  found  in  Jesus.  We  look  at 
Him.  We  listen  to  Him.  We  walk  with  Him. 
We  talk  with  Him.  It  is  all  perfectly  easy. 
He  is  of  our  humanity.  But  in  all  the  processes, 
and  growingly,  the  lights  and  glories  of  the 
eternal  things  are  breaking  through,  and  we  are 
being  led  forward  into  ever  more  and  more  won- 
derful unveilings. 

To  serve  the  Word  is  to  fulfil  the  highest 
function  of  which  man  is  capable.  Let  those 
called  to  its  holy  privilege  halt  in  awe,  worship 
in  wonder,  and  go  forward  with  glad  confidence. 


II 

The  Primitive  Ideal 


THE  WORD  AS  THE  TRUTH  OF  THE 
APOSTLE 

WE  now  turn  to  a  more  detailed  con- 
sideration of  the  work  of  the  Min- 
istry of  the  Word  as  we  find  it 
revealed  in  the  New  Testament,  in  order  that 
we  may  apprehend  the  primitive  ideal.  For 
the  moment  we  resolutely  ignore  all  modern 
conditions.  To  these  we  shall  subsequently 
return ;  and  we  shall  be  able  to  deal  with  them 
the  more  intelligently  in  proportion  as  we  have 
clearly  seen  these  first  things  in  the  history  of 
this  ministry. 

From  this  point  onward  in  our  consideration, 
the  term  "  the  Word  '*  must  be  understood 
according  to  the  interpretation  already  given. 
Specifically  it  always  refers  to  one  or  other  of 
the  phases,  and  therefore  involves  all  of  them. 
Following  the  line  suggested  by  the  apostolic 
division  of  the  work  into  four  phases,  we  com- 
mence with  that  of  the  Apostle. 

In  a  previous  Lecture  we  have  defined  the 
apostolic    functions    broadly    in    these    words; 

53 


54  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

The  Apostle  deals  with  the  zvhole  body  of  Truth, 
He  has  to  state  it,  to  systematise  it,  to  make  it 
available  to  the  saints,  in  order  to  their  guidance 
and  sustenance. 

In  that  definition  we  have  employed  the 
present  tense,  because  the  need  of  true  apos- 
toHc  work  of  this  kind  is  perpetual;  and,  as  we 
shall  see  later,  the  apostolic  gift  is  still  be- 
stowed within  the  Christian  Church.  That  we 
may  be  clear  as  to  the  nature  and  value  of  that 
gift,  we  now  consider  the  New  Testament 
teaching  on  the  subject,  dealing  with;  The 
Apostolic  Gift;  the  Apostolic  Function;  and  the 
Apostolic  message  or  Truth.  We  shall  en- 
deavour to  come  to  the  New  Testament  without 
prejudice,  in  order  to  discover  its  teaching. 
Therefore  we  shall  be  elementary  in  our 
method. 

Starting  with  the  statement  of  Paul,  **  He 
gave  some  apostles,"  we  have  to  discover  the 
nature  of  this  gift.  We  will  begin  with  the  word 
itself;  and  then  deal  with  its  place  in  the  New 
Testament. 

The  word  afiosfdlds  is  a  noun  derived  from 
the  verb  apbstello.  Divesting  our  minds  of 
all  the  ideas  which  we  usually  associate  with 
the  word, — which  may  be  false  or  true, — we 


TRUTH  OF  THE  APOSTLE  55 

have  to  recognize  that  the  fundamental  con- 
ception is  not  that  of  sending,  but  of  separa- 
tion. This  is  very  strongly  so;  and  this  lends 
force  and  meaning  to  the  idea  of  sending.  The 
action  which  makes  an  apostle  is  that  of  separa- 
ting him  from  all  other  matters,  in  order  that 
he  may  be  devoted  to  one  particular  business; 
and  that  invariably,  the  business  of  the  one  who 
thus  sets  him  apart.  The  ambassador  who  goes 
in  the  name  of  the  king,  to  represent  the  king, 
and  to  transact  the  business  of  the  king,  is  set 
apart  to  the  work.  This  setting  apart  is  the 
fundamental  idea  suggested  by  the  word  itself. 
In  use  however,  the  word  always  refers  also 
to  the  actual  carrying  out  of  the  purpose  for 
which  the  separation  has  taken  place.  The 
action  is  always  that  of  the  definite  sending  of 
the  one  separated;  so  that  the  apostle  is  always 
the  messenger,  separated  in  order  to  the  fulfil- 
ment of  a  mission,  and  the  one  who  carries  out 
the  mission.  In  the  simplest  sense  of  the  word 
then,  an  Apostle  is  one  who  is  rigorously  set 
apart,  in  order  to  go  on  an  embassy  on  behalf 
of  the  One  Who  separates  him.  The  apostolic 
gift  in  the  Christian  Church  is  that  Divine  be- 
stowment,  which  at  once  separates  him  who  re- 
ceives it  to  the  doing  of  a  certain  clearly  defined 


56  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

work;  and  perfectly  equips  him  with  all  that  is 
necessary  for  the  doing  thereof. 

The  use  of  the  word  in  the  New  Testament 
is  in  strict  accordance  with  these  simple  and 
fundamental  intentions.  The  verb  with  its 
ordinary  sense  of  "  to  send "  is  always  used 
with  the  idea  of  very  definite  authority  in  the 
sending,  and  so  also  in  the  going.  It  is  at 
least  an  interesting  fact  that  the  first  time  we 
come  across  the  verb  in  the  New  Testament 
is  in  the  statement  that  Herod  sent  forth  and 
slew  all  the  male  children  that  were  in  Bethle- 
hem. Here  the  fact  of  authority  is  clearly 
marked.  The  noun  is  employed  almost  invari- 
ably of  the  twelve  disciples  whom  the  Lord  se- 
lected, separated,  and  sent.  The  exceptions  are 
so  few  that  we  may  name  them.  There  are 
five  in  all,  of  which  three  are  definite,  and  two 
are  doubtful.  The  clear  exceptions  are;  first, 
where  the  word  is  used  of  the  Lord  Himself 
(Heb.  iii.  1)  ;  secondly,  where  in  writing  to  the 
Philippians  Paul  spoke  of  Epaphroditus  as  your 
apostle  (Phil.  ii.  25);  and  finally,  where  in  the 
Apocalypse  we  read  of  false  apostles  (Rev.  ii. 
2).  The  doubtful  exceptions  are;  first,  where 
our  Lord  used  the  word  generally,  but  where 
possibly  He  was  still  referring  to  the  Twelve 


TRUTH  OF  THE  APOSTLE  57 

(John  xiii.  16) ;  and,  where  Paul  referred  to 
"  our  brethren  the  apostles  of  the  Churches,"  in 
which  case  he  may  have  been  thinking  still  of 
the  Twelve  (2  Cor.  viii.  23).  In  every  other 
case  the  noun  is  used  of  the  Twelve. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  use  of  the  word  in 
connection  with  the  Twelve.  Mark  and  Luke 
give  a  careful  account  of  how  the  Lord  defi- 
nitely selected  twelve  from  among  the  number 
of  His  disciples  for  specific  work.  In  this  con- 
nection Luke  tells  us  that  He  named  them 
Apostles.  This  is  of  great  value  as  revealing 
the  fact  that  this  name  was  not  one  which  they 
chose  for  themselves;  nor  was  it  one  given  to 
them  by  outsiders.  There  can  be  no  question 
that  our  Lord  selected  it  with  a  full  sense  of  its 
deepest  meaning,  and  in  order  to  define  clearly 
the  nature  of  the  gift  He  bestowed  upon  them, 
and  of  the  work  that  they  would  be  called  to  do. 

In  Mark's  story  of  this  choosing  of  the 
Twelve,  he  indicated  the  double  nature  of  the 
appointment.  They  were  appointed;  first,  to 
be  with  Him.  This  is  the  fundamental  idea  of 
separation.  There  were  senses  in  which  the 
rest  of  the  disciples  continued  with  Him;  but 
in  the  case  of  the  Twelve,  there  was  a  special 
separation  from  all  other  persons  and  business, 


58  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

in  order  that  in  close  association  with  Himself, 
they  might  be  prepared  for  the  specific  work 
for  which  they  were  intended.  They  were  ap- 
pointed also  "  that  He  might  send  them  forth 
to  preach."  Here  we  find  the  verb  apostellb 
involving  the  separation,  and  indicating  the 
work  which  they  had  to  do. 

Mark  and  Luke  give  the  names  of  the  Twelve 
in  connection  with  their  accounts  of  this  elec- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  Lord.  Matthew,  who 
does  not  give  this  account,  records  the  names 
when  he  tells  of  their  sending  forth  on  their 
first  mission.  The  three  of  them,  Matthew, 
Mark,  and  Luke,  in  giving  the  story  of  their 
sending  forth,  make  use  of  the  verb  apostello. 
In  each  case  it  is  evident  that  their  specific  and 
central  work  was  that  of  preaching.  They  were 
sent  by  the  Lord  to  proclaim  His  word,  to  de- 
liver His  message,  to  make  known  the  Truth 
about  Himself.  Certain  powers  were  conferred 
upon  them,  the  exercise  of  which  would  serve 
as  signs,  giving  emphasis  to  their  message. 
These  however  were  distinctly  secondary  in 
importance,  their  chief  responsibility  being  that 
of  the  Word  which  they  were  to  proclaim,  the 
understanding  of  which  in  their  own  case  was 
the  result  of  their  having  been  with  Him. 


TRUTH  OF  THE  APOSTLE  59 

After  His  resurrection  from  among  the  dead 
it  was  to  these  twelve  He  specially  appeared  in 
the  upper  room.  Others  were  with  them,  on 
some  occasions,  and  once  at  least  He  appeared 
to  five  hundred  brethren.  Luke  in  his  second 
treatise,  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  lays  special 
emphasis  upon  the  fact  that  He  gave  command- 
ment to  the  Apostles.  He  also  tells  how  they 
asked  Him  whether  He  would  at  that  time  re- 
store the  Kingdom  to  Israel;  and  how  He  re- 
plied by  a  simple  and  yet  inclusive  definition  of 
their  responsibility.  They  were  to  be  His  wit- 
nesses in  Jerusalem,  in  all  Judaea  and  Samaria, 
and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth.  This 
charge  was  in  a  particular  and  peculiar  sense 
intended  for  the  Apostles.  While  all  believers 
are  to  be  His  witnesses,  it  was  the  duty  of  this 
apostolic  band  to  state  the  Truth  authorita- 
tively. Hence  we  presently  see  the  growing 
company  of  the  disciples  continuing  steadfastly 
in  the  Apostles'  teaching;  and  when  Paul  wrote 
his  letter  to  the  Ephesians  we  find  him  referring 
to  them  as  constituting,  with  the  prophets,  the 
foundation,  of  which  Jesus  Christ  Himself  is  the 
chief  Corner-stone.  It  is  thus  that  the  Church 
of  Christ  is  not  catholic  only ;  it  is  apostolic  also. 
As  these  Apostles  formulated  the  Christian  doc- 


6o  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

trine  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
they  fulfilled  the  true  function  of  their  apostle- 
ship.  In  this  sense  these  men  have  had  no 
official  successors.  Indeed  they  had  no  power 
or  authority  to  appoint  to  the  office.  One  of 
their  first  mistakes  after  their  Lord  had  de- 
parted from  them  as  to  bodily  presence,  was 
that  of  choosing  Matthias,  when  already  the 
Lord  had  separated  a  man  named  Saul  to  make 
up  the  number  of  the  first  Twelve.  In  another 
sense  they  have  always  had  successors,  but  to 
that  we  shall  come  presently. 

So  far  we  have  only  seen  the  idea  as  set  forth 
in  the  history  of  the  New  Testament.  We  may 
now  pass  to  a  statement  of  the  true  apostolic 
function.  What  that  function  was  in  the  case 
of  the  Twelve  clearly  emerges  from  that  exami- 
nation. They  were  specially  called  for  the  clear 
enunciation  of  Truth  concerning  the  Lord  Him- 
self, and  for  the  doing  of  this  work  they  were 
specially  prepared  by  their  close  association 
with  Him.  The  principle  upon  which  they  pro- 
ceeded to  the  election  of  a  successor  shows  that 
they  appreciated  the  importance  of  this,  though 
they  narrowed  the  conception  of  how  this  asso- 
ciation was  possible.  Peter  said;  "  Of  the  men 
therefore  which  have  companied  with  us  all  the 


TRUTH  OF  THE  APOSTLE  6i 

time  that  the  Lord  Jesus  went  in  and  out  among 
us,  beginning  from  the  baptism  of  John,  unto 
the  day  that  He  was  received  up  from  us,  of 
these  must  one  become  a  witness  with  us  of  His 
resurrection."  The  idea  that  an  Apostle  must 
have  definite,  first-hand  knowledge  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  in  order  to  witness  concerning  Him,  was 
perfectly  accurate.  The  mistake  consisted  in 
the  narrow  conception  of  the  way  in  which  that 
condition  could  be  fulfilled.  It  was  perfectly 
realized  in  the  case  of  Saul  of  Tarsus  by  special 
revelation,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  he 
probably  never  saw  his  Master  in  the  days  of 
His  flesh.  All  those  called  to  apostleship  were 
men  who  had  direct,  first-hand  knowledge  of 
the  Lord,  and  who  were  thus  prepared  for  the 
work  of  stating  the  Truth  concerning  Him. 

This  particular  apostolic  function  is  suggested 
by  a  statement  found  in  the  early  part  of  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Under  the  preaching  of 
Peter  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  about  three  thou- 
sand souls  were  added  to  the  Lord.  Of  these 
Luke  says  that  "  they  continued  stedfastly  in 
the  Apostles*  teaching,  and  fellowship,  in  the 
J)reaking  of  bread,  and  the  prayers."  In  these 
words  we  have  an  account  of  the  fourfold  safe- 
guard of  the  ^arly  Church.    That  safeguard  is 


62  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

described  by  the  use  of  four  phrases,  arranged 
m  two  couplets.  *'  In  the  Apostles'  teaching, 
and  fellowship;  in  the  breaking  of  bread,  and 
the  prayers." 

Of  these  the  first  in  order  of  statement  was 
first  also  in  importance,  because  it  was  funda- 
mental. It  was  that  of  the  Apostles'  teaching. 
The  word  didache  here  translated  teaching,  de- 
rived from  didaskOy  to  teach,  was  used  for  in- 
struction, both  as  to  the  act  and  the  subject.  It 
was  in  that  respect  kin  of  the  word  logos,  which 
as  we  said  in  our  earlier  studies  meant  the 
Word  not  only  as  an  expression,  but  also  as  the 
truth  expressed.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that 
in  this  particular  passage  the  word  had  both 
meanings.  These  people  continued  steadfast 
in  their  attendance  upon  the  actual  teaching  of 
the  Apostles,  and  in  their  obedience  to  what 
they  taught.  The  word  occurs  subsequently  in 
the  Book  of  the  Acts.  The  Sadducean  Sanhe- 
drim charged  the  Apostles  with  having  filled 
Jerusalem  with  their  teaching,  in  spite  of  the  fact 
that  they  had  been  straitly  charged  to  remain 
silent  (Acts  v.  28).  At  Paphos,  the  pro-consul, 
Sergius  Paulus,  **  believed,  being  astonished  at 
the  teaching  of  the  Lord"  (Acts  xiii.  12).  The 
men  of  Athens  brought  Paul  to  the  Areopagus, 


TRUTH  OF  THE  APOSTLE  63 

and  asked  to  be  told  what  the  new  teaching  was, 
which  was  spoken  by  Paul  (Acts  xvii.  19).  All 
these  references  point  to  the  same  conception 
of  a  body  of  doctrine,  or  a  statement  of  truth, 
concerning  the  Lord  Himself,  which  it  was  the 
work  of  the  Apostle  to  declare. 

We  may  summarize  our  consideration  of  the 
function  of  the  Apostle  then  by  saying  that  he  is 
a  man  chosen  by  Christ  Himself;  set  apart  to 
Christ,  to  be  with  Him  for  special  knowledge  of 
Him;  sent  by  Christ,  to  deliver  that  very  mes- 
sage of  truth  concerning  Himself,  which  he  has 
gained  by  this  separation  of  comradeship  and 
communion. 

This  brings  us  to  the  last  phase  of  this  con- 
sideration, that  namely  which  is  concerned  with 
the  apostolic  message,  or  truth.  In  writing  to 
the  Ephesians,  and  in  connection  with  his  dis- 
cussion of  this  subject  of  the  ministry,  Paul 
made  use  of  a  suggestive  and  revealing  phrase, 
"  As  truth  is  in  Jesus."  In  that  phrase  we  have 
an  inclusive  description  of  the  whole  of  apostolic 
teaching.  Let  us  call  to  mind  the  statement  in 
which  the  phrase  occurs.  Urging  these  Gentile 
believers  to  walk  no  longer  as  they  had  walked, 
he  said ;  "  Ye  did  not  so  learn  Christ,  if  so  be 
that  ye  heard  Him,  and  were  taught  in  Him, 


64  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

even  as  truth  is  in  Jesus.**  That  had  been  the 
nature  of  his  apostoUc  teaching,  beheving 
which,  these  people  had  entered  into  life.  Let 
the  phrase  be  pondered,  and  its  inclusiveness 
and  value  will  be  discovered.  Truth  here  stands 
for  that  which  is  essential  and  eternal;  the  ac- 
tual and  the  absolute  truth.  It  is  the  word 
which  our  Lord  employed  when  He  said  of 
Himself,  "  I  am  .  .  .  the  Truth  *';  and  that 
at  once  helps  us  to  understand  the  full  phrase, 
"  As  the  truth  is  in  Jesus."  The  last  five  words 
of  the  phrase  constitute  a  sentence,  which  ex- 
actly describes  the  apostolic  conviction,  and  re- 
veals the  scope  of  their  teaching.  The  truth  is 
in  Jesus.  They  had  found  that  essential  and 
eternal  truth  had  its  final  expression  in  Jesus. 
Their  teaching  was  the  exposition  of  the  truth 
so  expressed.  To  them  was  given  the  gift  of 
enabling  them  to  state  that  truth  in  such  form, 
as  to  be  the  guide  of  all  believers  in  their  growth 
"  into  Him  Who  is  the  Head,  even  Christ,  from 
Whom  all  the  body  fitly  framed  and  knit  to- 
gether .  .  .  maketh  the  increase  of  the  body 
unto  the  building  up  of  itself  in  love.'* 

We  shall  gain  further  important  light  on  this 
subject  as  we  consider  how  these  first  Apostles 
did  their  work.     They  first  preached  Jesus ;  that 


TRUTH  OF  THE  APOSTLE  63 

is,  they  told  the  story  concerning  Him,  as  they 
knew  it,  of  their  own  personal  experience. 
Realizing  that  essential  and  eternal  truth  was 
expressed  in  Him,  they  presented  Him  to  others 
as  He  had  been  presented  to  them.  The  whole 
method  of  apostolic  declaration  may  be  gath- 
ered from  an  examination  of  the  first  apostolic 
pronouncement,  that  of  Peter  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost  as  it  is  recorded  for  us  in  the  Book  of 
the  Acts  (chap.  ii.).  He  told  the  listening  mul- 
titudes the  simple  yet  inclusive  story  of  Jesus; 
as  a  Man  through  Whom  God  wrought  signs  in 
His  life,  which  showed  Him  to  be  approved  of 
God ;  as  One  Who  was  delivered  to  death  by  the 
determinate  counsel  and  foreknowledge  of  God, 
and  slain  by  the  men  of  Israel,  by  the  hand  of 
men  without  law,  that  is  Gentiles;  as  having 
been  raised  and  exalted  by  God;  and  as  having 
shed  forth  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  all  flesh.  That 
is  to  say  that  Peter  preached  or  proclaimed 
Jesus,  and  in  so  doing  proclaimed  Truth,  and  so 
fulfilled  his  apostolic  ministry. 

Thus  the  Truth  of  the  Apostles  was  that  of 
the  Word  of  God,  as  it  was  in  the  beginning, 
and  as  it  was  spoken  to  men  in  Jesus.  This  was 
the  first  method  and  message  of  all  the  Apostles. 
In  this  first  message,  as  in  all  subsequent  ones 


66  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

preserved  for  us,  it  is  to  be  observed  that  these 
men  employed  the  v^ritings  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment in  their  preaching  of  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 
They  did  not  interpret  Him  by  these  writings, 
but  rather  these  writings  by  Him ;  so  proving  at 
once  their  true  value  and  their  limitation. 

As  time  passed  on,  they  added  writing  to 
their  preaching,  and  so  under  the  guidance  of 
the  Spirit  provided  those  new  writings  which 
complete  the  Old,  as  they  give  men  for  all  time 
the  truth  concerning  Jesus,  and  so  embody  the 
truth,  "  as  the  truth  is  in  Jesus."  Not  all  the 
Twelve  wrote.  Moreover  some  wrote  who 
were  not  of  the  number  of  the  Twelve.  All  the 
writings  however  were  under  apostolic  influ- 
ence, and  were  produced  in  the  fellowship  of  the 
Apostles.     This  we  shall  see  as  we  proceed. 

Apostolic  Truth  then  is  found  in  our  New 
Testament.  It  is  the  literature  of  Christ. 
There  we  hear  Him,  and  are  taught  in  Him, 
even  as  Truth  is  in  Jesus.  The  subject  from 
first  to  last  is  Jesus  Christ  the  Word  of  God. 
Therefore  this  literature  is  in  very  deed  the 
Word  of  God  to  us;  and  it  is  the  apostolic 
Truth,  which  was  once  for  all  delivered  by  these 
Apostles  to  the  Church. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  Lecture  to  deal 


TRUTH  OF  THE  APOSTLE  67 

with  these  writings  in  detail,  but  it  will  be  of 
value  to  summarize  their  content.  In  the  first 
four  of  them  the  subject  is  that  of  the  Word  of 
God,  as  He  appeared  in  human  history.  Two 
of  these,  those  dealing  with  the  Kingly  and 
Divine  aspects  of  His  Person,  were  written  by 
Apostles,  Matthew  and  John.  The  other  two, 
those  presenting  Him  in  His  saving  and  human 
aspects,  were  written  by  men  under  the  influ- 
ence of  Apostles,  and  in  fellowship  with  them; 
Mark  with  Peter,  and  Luke  with  Paul.  Thus 
the  presentation  of  the  Person  is  apostolic. 
Then  follow  two  and  twenty  writings  in  which 
the  Word  of  God  is  presented,  as  He  is  realized 
and  proclaimed  through  His  mystical  Body  the 
Church.  Of  these  the  first  is  a  picture,  full  of 
life  and  colour  from  the  pen  of  an  artist,  Luke, 
who  travelled  and  wrought  in  fellowship  with 
the  great  Apostle  Paul.  In  it,  Christ  the  Word 
is  seen,  moving  out  towards  the  uttermost  parts 
of  the  earth,  through  His  Spirit-filled  witnesses. 
Then  follow  twenty-one  letters  and  pamphlets, 
which  constitute  a  body  of  instruction  for  the 
Church.  In  the  writing  of  these,  three  Apos- 
tles were  employed,  Paul,  Peter,  and  John ;  and 
two,  James  and  Jude,  who  were  the  close  associ- 
ates of  the  apostolic  band.     The  one  anony- 


68  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

mous  pamphlet,  namely  the  letter  to  the  He- 
brews, is  certainly  apostolic  in  its  teaching,  and 
was  probably  Luke's  reproduction  of  Paul's 
teaching.  At  least  that  is  as  well-founded  a 
speculation  as  any  other.  Thus  the  presenta- 
tion of  the  Church  is  apostolic.  The  subject  of 
the  last  writing  is  that  of  the  Word  of  God,  in 
His  personal  glory,  in  His  relation  to  His 
Church,  and  in  His  governmental  procedure, 
whereby  He  establishes  the  Kingdom  of  God  on 
earth.  This  was  written  by  the  Apostle  John. 
Thus  the  final  writing  is  also  apostolic. 

Thus  then  is  revealed  the  apostolic  message. 
It  was,  and  is  essentially,  that  of  the  Word ;  that 
is,  the  Whole  of  Truth  as  it  was  embodied  and 
expressed  in  the  Son  of  God,  as  the  Son  of  man. 
In  the  apostolic  writings  we  have  that  Truth 
stated,  systematized,  and  applied.  These  writ- 
ings then  constitute  at  once  the  germ  and  norm 
of  all  apostolic  preaching.  They  are  the  germ, 
needing  development  and  progressive  applica- 
tion. They  are  the  norm,  by  which  all  develop- 
ments and  applications  must  be  tested,  lest  they 
depart  from  the  Truth. 

While  the  number  of  the  foundation  Apostles 
was  completed,  and  in  these  writings  we  have 
the  full  body  of  apostolic  doctrine,  it  is  never- 


TRUTH  OF  THE  APOSTLE  69 

thelcss  true  that  the  apostoHc  gift  is  still  needed 
and  bestowed.  It  is  needed  wherever  the  Word 
is  to  be  given  to  a  people  in  a  new  tongue,  or  to 
meet  new  conditions.  The  work  of  translation, 
which  is  too  often  looked  upon  as  being  merely 
academic,  is  strictly  apostolic.  When  we  re- 
member the  great  translators,  that  will  be  con- 
ceded. The  work  of  the  true  theologian  is  also 
distinctly  apostolic.  It  is  that  of  stating  the 
eternal  truth  in  the  new  terms  of  the  new  age; 
and  that  without  destroying  its  essential  charac- 
ter. For  the  doing  of  this  work  also,  no  merely 
academic  equipment  is  sufficient.  The  gift  of 
the  Apostle  is  necessary. 

From  this  interpretation  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  apostolic  is  one  phase  only  of  The  Ministry 
of  the  Word.  There  is  a  sense  in  which  all 
Christian  ministry  is  apostolic,  whereas  all 
Christian  ministry  is  not  necessarily  prophetic, 
nor  evangelistic,  nor  pastoral  and  didactic.  All 
ministry  of  the  Word  is  apostolic,  because  it  is 
concerned  with  the  Truth,  which  received  apos- 
tolic interpretation  under  the  guidance  of  the 
Spirit,  and  must  always  be  tested  by  that  inter- 
pretation. In  this  sense  apostolic  ministry  is 
fundamental  and  continuous.  There  are  proph- 
ets, evangelists,  pastors  and  teachers,  who  have 


70  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

not  the  apostolic  gift,  but  all  of  them  have  to  do 
with  this  apostolic  teaching.  It  is  the  bond  of 
union  between  them.  The  proportion  in  which 
this  fact  is  realized,  is  the  proportion  in  which 
any  sense  of  conflicting  interest  in  the  exercise 
of  this  ministry,  as  between  those  of  the  differ- 
ent orders,  is  impossible.  Each  in  his  own 
order  will  recognize  the  complementary  nature 
of  all  the  orders,  and  there  will  be  perfect  co- 
operation. 

In  this  connection  I  may  be  permitted  to  say 
how  out  of  place  the  word  succession  is,  in  ref- 
erence to  the  Christian  ministry.  There  is  no 
such  thing  as  Apostolic  succession,  as  there  is 
no  such  thing  as  Prophetic,  or  Evangelistic,  or 
Pastoral  succession.  The  call  to  the  ministry  is 
personal  and  direct;  and  for  the  equipment  of 
those  called,  gifts  and  grace  are  supplied  not 
mediately,  but  immediately,  by  the  Head  of  the 
Church,  through  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  historic  continuity  and  unity  of  the 
Christian  ministry  is  maintained  by  The  Word 
of  God,  which  liveth  and  abideth  for  ever.  The 
gifts  vary,  and  the  secondary  means  by  which 
they  are  received  are  more  perhaps  than  we 
have  recognized.  They  were  bestowed  in  New 
Testament  times  by  the  laying  on  of  hands, 


TRUTH  OF  THE  APOSTLE  71 

sometimes  by  bishops,  or  presbyters,  sometimes 
by  the  members  of  the  Church;  and  so  they  still 
undoubtedly  are,  as  bishops  and  Christian  be- 
lievers act  under  the  Lordship  of  Christ.  In 
those  days  they  were  received  without  any  lay- 
ing on  of  hands,  and  so  they  still  undoubtedly 
are. 

That  which  mattered  then,  and  that  which 
matters  yet,  is  the  Truth  of  which  the  Apostles 
were,  and  are,  the  interpreters.  The  testing  of 
Apostolic  ministry  therefore  is  that  of  the  Truth 
itself.  If  one  claiming  apostolic  gifts  and  func- 
tions denies  the  faith  once  for  all  delivered  to 
the  saints,  his  claim  is  disproved  by  that  denial. 

Thus  the  sacredness  of  the  work  of  Apostolic 
ministry  of  the  Word  is  revealed. 


B 

THE  WORD  AS  THE  BURDEN  OF  THE 
PROPHET 

WE  now  turn  to  the  second  phase  of  the 
ministry  of  the  Word  referred  to  by 
the  Apostle,  that  namely  of  the 
Prophet.  We  have  already  broadly  defined  the 
term  Prophet  as  referring  to  one  whose  office  it 
is ;  To  make  the  light  of  Truth  shine  in  front  of  men; 
he  is  a  man  of  light  and  of  lazu. 

The  work  of  the  Prophet  in  the  Christian 
economy  is  always  dependent  upon  that  of  the 
Apostle.  In  his  first  letter  to  the  Corinthians, 
Paul  explicitly  stated  this,  when  he  wrote; 
"  God  hath  set  some  in  the  Church,  first  apos- 
tles, secondly  prophets,  thirdly  teachers "  * 
(1  Cor.  xii.  28).  This  does  not  mean  that  the 
Apostle  occupies  a  higher  rank  than  the  Prophet 

*The  reason  for  the  omission  of  the  Evangelist  here 
probably  is  that  the  Apostle  was  dealing  with  the  gifts  of 
value  within  the  Church,  rather  than  with  the  one  by  which 
men  are  brought  into  the  Church.  Whereas  the  work  of 
the  Prophet  has  application  beyond  the  Church,  it  also  has 
values  within,  and  so  was  included. 

72 


THE  BURDEN  OF  THE  PROPHET  73 

or  Teacher.  Such  an  idea  of  rank  is  wholly  of 
this  world,  and  has  no  place  in  Christian  organ- 
ization. 

In  considering  this  subject  of  the  prophetic 
gift  we  must  give  particular  attention  to  the 
idea  as  it  is  found  in  the  New  Testament.  It 
is  to  say  the  least,  an  interesting  and  suggestive 
fact,  that  the  word  prophet  is  far  more  common 
there  than  the  word  apostle.  I  confess  that  this 
fact  surprised  me  when  I  noticed  it — but  it  is  so. 

In  the  New  Testament  writings  we  find  a 
group  of  words,  all  based  upon  one  central  idea. 
To  understand  the  true  nature  of  prophetic  min- 
istry, we  must  discover  that  idea.  In  order  to 
do  so,  we  shall  again  come  to  these  writings 
with  an  open  mind,  endeavouring  to  find  the 
conception,  apart  from  all  foregone  conclusions. 
We  will  follow  the  same  method,  considering; 
the  Prophetic  Gift;  the  Prophetic  Function;  and 
the  Prophetic  Burden. 

The  central  word  of  the  group  referred  to  is 
the  word  Prophet,  employed  by  the  Apostle 
in  his  statement,  *'  He  gave  .  .  .  some  proph- 
ets." Our  word  prophet  is  really  a  translit- 
eration of  the  Greek  word  prophetes,  which  also 
appears  in  the  feminine  form  propketis^  ren- 
dered prophetess.     This  is  a  compound  word, 


74  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

made  up  of  the  prefix  pro^  which  means  fore,  in 
the  sense  of  in  front  of,  or  before;  and  the  verb 
phemiy  to  speak.  This  verb,  v^hich  Hterally 
means  to  show,  or  make  known,  is  derived  from 
phaino,  to  shine. 

This  very  elementary  method  of  considera- 
tion gives  us  the  simplest  and  the  truest  value 
of  the  word  itself.  According  to  it,  the  Prophet 
is  one  who  makes  Truth  known  to  men  in  such 
a  way  that  it  arrests  the  attention.  He  is  one 
through  whose  ministry  the  Truth  shines  forth 
upon  men,  so  that  they  find  themselves  in  its 
light.  While  the  Apostle  is  chiefly  concerned 
with  the  Truth  in  itself,  the  Prophet  is  con- 
cerned with  its  statement  to  men  in  such  terms 
that  it  may  make  its  proper  appeal  to  them. 
The  whole  emphasis  is  on  the  Truth,  as  made 
known,  as  shining  forth,  as  applied.  While  the 
Apostle  is  called  to  state  the  essential  and  eter- 
nal Truth,  as  it  found  expression  in  Jesus,  the 
Prophet  is  supremely  called  to  show  the  bearing 
of  that  Truth  on  temporal  things.  In  prophetic 
ministry  we  find  therefore  what  we  may  de- 
scribe, for  lack  of  a  better  term,  as  the  tenses  of 
Truth.  It  deals  with  the  past,  as  it  makes  his- 
tory the  vehicle  through  which  eternal  prin- 
ciples have  been  revealed.     It  deals  with  the 


BURDEN  OF  THE  PROPHET  75 

present,  as  it  measures  the  things  of  to-day  by 
eternal  standards.  It  deals  with  the  future,  as 
it  declares  things  to  come,  in  order  that  the  un- 
veilings  may  produce  an  immediate  effect  upon 
the  conceptions  and  conduct  of  men. 

As  we  have  said,  this  phase  of  ministry  is  con- 
stantly referred  to  in  the  New  Testament.  In 
addition  to  the  words  already  cited,  we  find 
these  cognate  forms;  prhpheteud,  to  prophesy; 
prdpheteiay  a  prophecy;  and  prophetikos^  pro- 
phetic. A  study  of  all  the  passages  in  which 
these  words  are  found  makes  it  evident  that  the 
idea  was  taken  over  from  the  old  economy,  and 
from  the  writings  of  the  Old  Testament.  To 
them,  then,  we  may  properly  turn  for  an  inter- 
pretation of  the  idea. 

The  Hebrew  word  for  prophet  is  derived 
from  a  verb  which  means  to  speak  or  sing  by 
inspiration.  By  inspiration  here,  I  mean  super- 
naturally ;  the  speech  or  the  song  resulting  from 
some  Divine  influence  operating  through  the 
speaker  or  singer.  There  is  nothing  in  the 
word  which  suggests  the  method  of  inspiration, 
but  it  stands  for  such  speech,  whether  it  deals 
with  past,  present,  or  future,  as  results  from  a 
Divine  action,  whereby  the  speaker  utters,  not 
his  own   private   interpretations   of   events  or 


76  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

problems,  but  the  Word  of  the  Lord  concerning 
them.  The  whole  conception  of  prophesying 
was  that  of  proclaiming  the  thoughts  of  God; 
and  therefore  the  Prophet  was  always  the  in- 
strument through  whom  God  made  known  His 
will  to  men. 

The  Old  Testament  conception  moreover, 
was  ever  that  of  the  practical  and  ethical  value 
of  prophecy.  The  Old  Testament  Prophets 
never  spoke  or  wrote  merely  to  satisfy  curiosity, 
either  in  their  historic  records,  in  their  direct 
messages,  or  in  their  foretelling  of  things  to 
come.  The  purpose  of  their  ministry  was  ever 
that  of  producing  immediate  results  in  the  lives 
of  those  to  whom  their  words  were  addressed. 

I  pause  to  stress  this  fact,  because  a  common 
use  of  the  word  shows  how  sadly  it  has  been  lost 
sight  of.  Constantly  the  word  prophet  is  used 
as  though  it  referred  to  one  able  to  predict  com- 
ing events,  and  prophecy  is  conceived  of  as  con- 
sisting wholly  of  such  predictions.  Moreover 
altogether  too  often  the  study  of  the  predictive 
elements  in  Biblical  prophecies  degenerates  into 
a  curiosity  which  is  morbid,  and  often  irrever- 
ent, a  desire  to  know  **  times  and  seasons,"  sim- 
ply for  the  satisfaction  which  such  knowledge 
produces. 


BURDEN  OF  THE  PROPHET  77 

Nothing  can  be  more  erroneous.  That  the 
predictive  element  existed  in  prophetic  ministry 
in  the  Hebrew  economy,  no  one  denies.  In- 
deed it  was  the  element  which  most  clearly  set 
the  seal  of  the  supernatural  upon  that  ministry. 
This  is  clearly  seen  in  the  Book  of  Isaiah,  where 
the  Prophet  makes  this  fact  of  prediction  the 
proof  of  Divine  authority,  as  he  challenges  the 
false  gods  and  prophets;  **  Declare  the  things 
that  are  to  come  hereafter,  that  we  may  know 
that  ye  are  gods.  .  .  .  Who  hath  declared  it 
from  the  beginning  that  we  may  know?  and  be- 
fore time,  that  we  may  say,  He  is  righteous? 
yea,  there  is  none  that  declareth  .  .  ."  (Isa. 
xli.  23  and  26).  Yet  even  here,  and  always,  the 
purpose  of  prediction  was  that  of  producing  im- 
mediate moral  results,  and  not  that  of  affording 
intellectual  satisfaction.  This  element  was  only 
one  however,  and  if  we  may  measure  its  value 
by  its  amount,  it  was  the  least  important. 
Prophecy  was  also  the  interpretation  of  history. 
That  is  why  all  the  historic  books  of  the  Old 
Testament  were  included  in  the  Division  which 
they  named  "'  The  Prophets."  Their  historians 
were  Prophets,  because  they  ever  set  history  in 
relation  to  the  government  of  God,  showing 
through  it,  how  all  disaster  had  resulted  from 


78  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

disobedience  to  the  Law  of  God,  and  all  success 
from  conformity  thereto.  Prophecy  was  also 
the  interpretation  of  the  will  of  God  to  men  im- 
mediately, the  inspired  utterance  which  made 
known  to  men  what  was  at  the  very  moment 
the  Divine  purpose  and  way. 

This  complete  conception  of  the  prophetic 
office  was  taken  over  by  the  men  of  the  new 
age.  This  fact  must  be  borne  in  mind  in  any 
attempt  to  understand  the  gift  of  the  Prophet. 
Prophecy  is  truth  spoken,  as  the  result  of  Divine 
inspiration,  and  with  a  view  to  producing  Divine 
results  in  huma\n  affairs.  The  work  of  the 
Prophet  is  that  of  making  such  truth  known 
to  men  in  ways  which  command  attention. 

Let  us  now  observe  the  idea  as  it  is  found  in- 
the  New  Testament,  dividing  our  examination 
into  two  parts ;  first  the  references  prior  to  Pen- 
tecost; and  secondly,  those  afterwards.  In  both 
cases  we  find  that  references  are  constantly 
made  to  the  Old  Testament  prophets.  There  is 
a  sense  of  course  in  which  the  writings  which 
record  the  things  before  Pentecost  are  post- 
pentecostal.  That  is  to  say,  that  probably  none 
of  them  was  written  before  the  coming  of  the 
Spirit.  Hence  we  find  the  constant  statement 
that  the  predictions  of  the  Prophets  of  the  old 


BURDEN  OF  THE  PROPHET         79 

economy  were  fulfilled  in  the  life  and  death  and 
resurrection  of  Jesus.  All  such  references  are 
of  great  value,  not  only  as  they  reveal  the  rela- 
tionship between  the  Hebrew  and  Christian 
economies,  but  also  as  they  serve  to  show  the 
true  nature  of  Hebrew  prophecy.  In  our  ex- 
amination I  propose  to  confine  myself  to  those 
references  which  deal  with  the  prophetic  gift 
within  the  Christian  age. 

The  references  to  the  ministry  of  the  Prophet 
within  the  Christian  era  in  the  Gospels  are  few, 
but  they  are  suggestive.  Matthew  gives  us  a 
fuller  account  than  any  of  the  other  Evangelists 
of  the  ordination  of  the  Twelve  as  they  were 
sent  forth  on  their  first  mission  (Matt.  ix.  35- 
X.  42).  Here  we  find  our  Lord's  charge  to 
them.  It  is  quite  evident  that  as  He  spoke  to 
them  He  was  looking  on  to  all  the  processes  of 
the  age  which  He  was  then  inaugurating.  The 
first  part  of  the  charge  had  to  do  with  their  im- 
mediate mission  (Matt.  x.  5-15).  The  second 
part  covered  the  period  from  His  ascension  to 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  (x.  16-23).  The 
final  part  dealt  with  the  whole  period  thence,  to 
the  consummation  of  the  age  (x.  24-42).  In 
the  closing  sentences  of  that  final  section  He 
said,  "  He  that  receiveth  a  Prophet  in  the  name 


8o  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

of  a  prophet,  shall  receive  a  Prophet's  reward  " 
(ver.  41). 

The  only  value  of  these  v^^ords  for  the  purpose 
of  our  present  study  is,  that  they  show  that  our 
Lord  deliberately  indicated  His  adoption  of  the 
prophetic  method  of  ministry  in  connection  with 
the  complete  ministry  of  witness,  to  which  His 
people  were  to  be  sent  forth.  At  the  close  of 
His  ministry  He  uttered  the  final  doom  of  the 
city  of  Jerusalem.  This  was  preceded  by  His 
woes  against  the  rulers,  at  the  close  of  which  He 
said,  "  Behold  I  send  unto  you  Prophets,  and 
wise  men,  and  scribes;  some  of  them  shall  ye 
kill  and  crucify;  and  some  of  them  shall  ye 
scourge  in  your  synagogues,  and  persecute  from 
city  to  city  "  (Matt,  xxiii.  34).  Here  His  refer- 
ence undoubtedly  was  to  the  ministry  of  His 
witnesses  which  would  follow  His  departure, 
and  again  we  have  evidence  of  His  recognition 
of  the  prophetic  method.  He  employed  the 
term  in  reference  to  His  own  ministry  when  He 
said,  "  A  Prophet  is  not  without  honour,  save  in 
his  own  country,  and  in  his  own  house  "  (Matt, 
xiii.  57)  ;  and  the  people  spoke  of  Him  as  a 
Prophet.  These  are  the  references  to  a  Chris- 
tian ministry  of  prophecy  in  the  Gospels.  They 
are  few,  but  they  suffice  to  show  that  it  was 


BURDEN  OF  THE  PROPHET         8i 

within  the  intention  of  the  Lord  Himself  that 
there  should  be  such  a  phase  of  ministry. 
When  we  turn  to  the  more  strictly  post-pente- 
costal  times,  we  find  a  much  more  frequent  oc- 
currence of  the  idea. 

In  the  Acts  the  prophetic  character  of  pente- 
costal  preaching  emerges  in  the  first  apostolic 
declaration.  When  Peter  interpreted  the  signs 
of  the  Spirit  to  the  inquiring  multitudes,  he 
quoted  the  prophecy  of  Joel,  declaring  that  it 
found  its  fulfilment  on  that  day.  According  to 
that  foretelling  of  the  Hebrew  Prophet,  one  of 
the  great  results  of  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit 
would  be  that  of  the  new  age  of  prophecy  which 
would  then  begin  (Acts  ii.  17,  18,  19).  When, 
centuries  before,  the  news  was  brought  to 
Moses  that  Eldad  and  Medad  were  prophesy- 
ing, he  had  exclaimed ;  "  Would  God  that  all  the 
Lord's  people  were  Prophets"  (Num.  xi.  29). 
From  the  hour  when  the  great  lawgiver 
breathed  the  wish,  we  pass  to  the  days  when 
Joel  declared  it  would  be  realized,  and  so  on  to 
Pentecost  when  it  was  fulfilled. 

While  it  is  true  that  the  Spirit  equips  all  be- 
lievers for  prophetic  witness,  it  is  also  true  that 
there  are  those  who  have  a  special  gift,  and  this 
is  seen  in  the  Acts.     When  the  new  movement 


82  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

was  about  to  begin  from  Antioch,  Prophets 
went  down  there  from  Jerusalem,  and  one  of 
them,  Agabus,  uttered  the  predictive  word  con- 
cerning the  great  famine  (Acts  xi.  27,  28). 
This  man  appears  again  in  the  account  of  Paul's 
stay  at  Csesarea,  and  again  his  message  was 
predictive  (Acts  xxi.  10,  11).  In  the  Church  at 
Antioch  Prophets  were  found  (Acts  xiii.  1). 
Judas  and  Silas  are  distinctly  named  as 
Prophets  (Acts  xv.  32).  At  Ephesus  the  gift 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  signalized  by  the  exercise 
of  prophetic  ministry  (Acts  xix.  6).  The  four 
daughters  of  Philip  the  evangelist  prophesied 
(Acts  xxi.  9). 

In  his  first  Corinthian  letter  Paul  gave  ex- 
plicit instructions  concerning  the  exercise  of  the 
prophetic  gift. 

All  this  is  of  value  as  it  shows  that  the  par- 
ticular method  of  the  Prophet  in  the  ministry 
of  the  Word  obtained  in  the  earliest  days  of  the 
Christian  economy,  and  that  it  was  one  of  the 
gifts  bestowed  within  the  Church,  by  the  Head 
of  the  Church,  through  the  Spirit. 

The  prophetic  function  emerges  clearly  into 
view  in  our  consideration  of  the  gift  itself.  In 
the  second  letter  of  Peter  however,  we  have  a 
statement  which  is  of  the  utmost  value  in  order 


BURDEN  OF  THE  PROPHET  83 

to  an  accurate  apprehension  of  the  pecuHar  na- 
ture of  prophesying.  He  was  deahng  with  the 
experience  on  the  Holy  Mount,  and  especially 
with  the  influence  which  the  voice,  those  who 
were  present  then  heard,  had  upon  them  with 
regard  to  the  prophecies  of  the  past.  The  pas- 
sage is  so  important  that  we  quote  it  in  full. 
"  We  have  the  word  of  prophecy  made  more 
sure;  whereunto  ye  do  well  that  ye  take  heed, 
as  unto  a  lamp  shining  in  a  dark  place,  until  the 
day  dawn,  and  the  day-star  arise  in  your  hearts; 
knowing  this  first,  that  no  prophecy  of  Scripture 
is  of  private  interpretation.  For  no  prophecy 
ever  came  by  the  will  of  man;  but  men  spake 
from  God,  being  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost " 
(2  Pet.  i.  19-21). 

Through  the  testimony  of  the  voice  of  the 
Holy  Mount  to  the  Son  of  God,  these  men  came 
to  a  new  understanding  of  the  nature  of  the 
prophetic  writings,  with  which  they  had  been 
familiar  from  childhood.  These  writings  were, 
by  this  experience,  made  more  sure  to  them. 
With  that  aspect  of  Peter's  message  we  are  not 
now  interested,  save  in  so  far  as  it  throws  light 
upon  the  prophetic  function.  We  have  already 
seen  that  the  idea  in  the  New  Testament  is 
identical  with  that  in  the  Old.     All  that  is  here 


84  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

said  concerning  the  prophecies  of  the  past  is 
equally  true  concerning  prophetic  ministry  to- 
day. 

The  function  of  prophecy  then,  is  that  of 
speaking  the  Word  of  God,  that  Word  being 
received  from  God  by  the  ministry  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  The  Prophet  is  not  one  who  observes 
his  age  and  gives  his  own  interpretation  of  it. 
He  is  one  who  is  carried  along  by  the  Spirit 
into  a  place  of  vision  and  understanding,  above 
and  beyond  his  age,  from  which  he  sees  it  as 
God  sees  it,  and  in  which  he  receives  from  God 
the  very  message  the  age  needs  to  hear.  Such 
messages  constitute  light  in  dark  places,  to 
which  men  do  well  that  they  take  heed. 

Prophets  then  are  men  who  are  sure,  because 
they  are  Spirit-taught;  and  they  speak  therefore 
with  the  note  of  absolute  authority.  The  eflFect 
of  their  speaking  may  be  that  of  condemnation, 
or  of  direction,  or  of  inspiration.  It  is  always 
practical,  ethical,  spiritual.  All  this  will  be- 
come yet  clearer  as  we  turn  to  the  consideration 
of  the  Burden  of  the  Prophet. 

The  word  burden,  in  relation  to  prophetic  min- 
istry, is  strictly  an  Old  Testament  word,  and  it 
has  no  exact  equivalent  in  the  New.  Neverthe- 
less we  employ  it,  and  are  justified  in  doing  so, 


BURDEN  OF  THE  PROPHET         85 

because,  as  we  have  seen,  the  whole  conception 
of  prophetic  ministry  is  carried  over  from  the 
Old  Testament  into  the  New.  We  will  go  back 
then  to  the  Old  in  order  to  discover  the  meaning 
and  use  of  the  word  there.  The  Hebrew  word 
(Massd)  literally  means  a  burden  or  a  load  in 
our  ordinary  every-day  sense.  It  is  used  of  the 
weights  carried  by  beasts,  and  of  responsibilities 
resting  upon  men.  The  Prophets  themselves 
appropriated  the  word,  and  made  it  the  peculiar 
vehicle  by  which  they  expressed  their  own  con- 
ception of  the  nature  of  their  messages.  In 
their  use  of  it,  we  find  it  stood  for  the  truth 
made  known  to  them  by  God;  for  the  desire 
which  they  experienced  to  utter  the  truth;  and 
for  the  message  as  they  delivered  it.  We  now 
employ  the  word  strictly  in  this  sense. 

The  Burden  of  the  New  Testament  Prophet, 
like  that  of  the  Old,  is  first  the  Truth  made 
known  by  God  in  order  that  it  may  be  declared 
to  men.  Such  truth,  so  made  known  to  the 
Prophet,  becomes  a  burden  of  desire,  compel- 
ling him  to  utter  it.  The  message  which,  under 
such  constraint,  is  proclaimed  to  men  is  the 
Word  of  the  Lord. 

What  then  is  the  Burden  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment Prophet?    We  may  find  a  practically  com- 


86  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

plete  answer  to  that  inquiry  in  the  words  of 
Peter  in  the  house  of  CorneUus.  At  the  dose 
of  the  address  dehvered  when  he  perceived  that 
the  Gospel  was  for  the  Gentile  as  well  as  the 
Jew,  he  said,  "  To  Him  bear  all  the  Prophets 
witness."  While  these  words  are  usually  em- 
ployed as  though  they  referred  to  the  prophe- 
cies of  the  past;  and  while  such  interpretation 
of  them  is  undoubtedly  correct  as  far  as  it  goes; 
it  is  equally  certain  that  they  describe,  and  with 
even  more  accuracy,  the  burden  of  Christian 
prophesying.  If  the  whole  of  that  brief  but 
pregnant  address  be  read,  this  will  be  the  more 
readily  acknowledged.  After  telling  the  story 
of  Jesus  in  a  very  few  words,  he  declared  that 
God  had  charged  them  ''  to  preach  unto  the 
people  that  this  is  He  Which  is  ordained  of  God 
to  be  the  Judge  of  quick  and  dead.'*  To  Him 
then,  all  the  Prophets  give  witness.  They  de- 
clare His  absolute  sovereignty  over  all  human 
souls,  whether  quick  or  dead.  Such  declara- 
tion ever  involves  the  illustration  of  that  sov- 
ereignty; interpretation  of  its  reasons,  its 
methods,  its  purposes;  and  application  of  the 
one  central  fact  to  the  circumstances  in  the 
midst  of  which  the  Prophet  is  called  to  exercise 
his  ministry. 


BURDEN  OF  THE  PROPHET  87 

/■ 

Some  further  light  may  be  obtained  from  the 
passage  in  Peter's  second  letter  to  which  we 
have  already  referred.  Referring  to  the  ex- 
perience of  the  Holy  Mount,  he  said;  "  We  did 
not  follow  cunningly  devised  fables  when  we 
made  known  unto  you  the  power  and  coming  * 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  *'  (2  Pet.  i.  16).  The 
positive  note  in  that  statement  is  full  of  light. 
The  whole  burden  of  prophetic  ministry  is  ex- 
pressed in  the  words  "  the  power  and  coming 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  They  cover  the 
whole  fact  of  His  relation  to  the  world.  In  the 
next  two  sections  of  this  letter  he  dealt  with  the 
perils  threatening  these  truths.  First  the  perils 
threatening  the  truth  of  the  Power  (chap.  ii.). 
Carefully  observe  that  this  peril  consisted  in 
false  prophets  and  teachers  denying  the  Master. 
Then  the  peril  threatening  the  truth  of  the 
Coming  (chap.  iii.).  Again  observe  that  this 
peril  consisted  in  the  mocking  of  those  who  dis- 
believed the  predictions  of  the  holy  Prophets 
and  the  teaching  of  the  Apostles.  True  proph- 
ecy then  is  that  which  proclaims  His  Power  and 
His  Coming;  and  such  prophecy  is  ever  of  the 
nature  of  a  lamp  shining  in  a  dark  place. 

Returning  for  a  moment  to  a  more  abstract 
matter,  it  ''^  interesting  to  turn  to  a  passage 


88  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

in  Jeremiah,  in  which  terrible  things  are  written 
against  false  prophets  (xxxiii.  9-40).  Towards 
the  close  of  that  passage  the  whole  question  of 
the  use  and  abuse  of  the  word  burden  is  dis- 
cussed. In  the  course  of  the  discussion,  the 
human  questions  to  which  the  prophetic  bur- 
den is  the  true  answer  are  given.  They 
are  these;  **  What  hath  the  Lord  answered?'* 
"What  hath  the  Lord  spoken?"  A  real 
prophetic  burden  then  is  the  answer  to 
those  questions;  and  the  Prophet  is  the  man 
who  answers  them.  In  the  light  of  that  state- 
ment we  turn  to  the  letter  to  the  Hebrews; 
"  God  having  of  old  time  spoken  unto  the  fa- 
thers in  the  Prophets  by  divers  portions,  and  in 
divers  manners,  hath  at  the  end  of  these  days 
spoken  unto  us  in  His  Son  '*  (Heb.  i.  1,  2).  The 
Son  then  is  the  One  Prophet  of  God,  and  all 
Prophets  in  the  Christian  age  are  such  as  give 
the  answer  of  His  truth  to  humanity  as  it  in- 
quires, "  What  hath  the  Lord  spoken?  ** 

Thus  then  is  clearly  revealed  the  Burden  of 
the  Christian  Prophet.  It  is  that  of  the  Word 
of  God,  embodied  in  the  Word  incarnate,  the 
Son  in  Whom  God  has  spoken  to  all  men  and  all 
ages,  everything  that  it  is  necessary  that  they 
should  know  in  order  to  the  realization  of  the 


BURDEN  OF  THE  PROPHET  89 

purpose  of  God,  which  is  also  that  of  the  true 
and  glorious  destiny  of  humanity. 

This  Word  the  Prophet  is  to  declare,  to  apply, 
to  insist  on.  His  ministry  is  not  that  of  the 
Apostle,  not  that  of  the  Evangelist,  nor  that  of 
the  Pastor  and  Teacher.  As  we  have  seen,  the 
work  of  the  Apostle  is  ever  that  of  giving  all  his 
attention  to  the  Truth  itself.  The  Prophet 
must  receive  the  Truth  from  the  Apostle.  His 
prophesying  in  that  sense  must  be  apostolic. 
As  we  shall  see,  the  work  of  the  Evangelist  is 
that  of  perpetually  proclaiming  the  first  things 
of  the  Truth;  while  that  of  the  Pastor  and 
Teacher  is  that  of  instructing  the  members  of 
the  Church  in  Truth,  that  they  may  grow 
thereby.  The  Prophet  is  rather  the  man  who 
addresses  his  age,  declaring  to  it  the  crown 
rights  of  the  Lord,  and  showing  how  they  affect 
all  the  affairs  of  men.  It  is  a  great  ministry, 
full  of  infinite  variety,  charged  with  solemn  re- 
sponsibility, and  yielding  results  which  can 
never  be  expressed  in  human  statistics.  The 
voice  of  the  Prophet  will  often  be  silenced  by 
the  clamour  of  opposition,  but  his  word  will 
abide,  and  being  the  Word  of  God,  will  never 
return  to  Him  void. 

The     gift     has     persisted     throughout     the 


90  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

Christian  era,  and  it  is  still  needed.  Whether 
they  will  hear  or  whether  they  will  forbear, 
men  must  still  be  compelled  to  attend  to  the 
proclamation  of  the  truth  about  themselves,  and 
about  life,  which  Truth  is  all  contained  in  the 
Word  of  God,  which  found  its  complete  utter- 
ance in  His  Son. 

That  there  have  been,  and  still  are  those  on 
whom  this  specific  gift  is  bestowed  will,  I  think, 
be  readily  conceded.  Their  preaching  is  ever 
characterized  by  national  and  social  applica- 
tions, rather  than  by  individual  appeal.  That 
i&  not  to  say  that  it  has  no  personal  value.  It 
certainly  has,  for  the  true  Prophet  never  forgets 
that  the  nation  consists  of  the  People,  and  that 
the  People,  as  a  Commonwealth,  is  strong  or 
weak  in  proportion  as  the  individuals  making 
up  the  whole  are  strong  or  weak.  But  it  does 
mean  that  the  Prophet  is  a  man  who  sees  clearly 
the  whole  movement  of  human  life,  and  his  mes- 
sage has  to  do  with  all  human  inter-relation- 
ships, and  responsibilities,  as  these  are  condi- 
tioned within  the  Will  of  God.  The  Prophet 
therefore  is  not  called  upon  to  tarry  with  indi- 
viduals. That  is  the  work  more  specifically  of 
Evangelists  and  Pastors  and  Teachers.  Neither 
is   he   called  upon   to   systematize   the   Truth. 


BURDEN  OF  THE  PROPHET  91 

That  is  the  work  of  the  Apostles.  He,  knowing 
this  Truth,  and  reahzing  the  fact  that  men  are 
only  perfected  as  they  fulfil  the  Divine  ideal  of 
society,  speaks  to  them  as  a  whole.  He  will  talk 
to  them  of  history,  ignoring  the  accidental  inci- 
dents, as  he  interprets  the  fundamental  and  es- 
sential things  of  Divine  law  and  rule.  He  will 
speak  to  every  present  situation,  not  discussing 
it  from  the  standpoint  of  human  observation, 
but  declaring  the  Divine  thought  and  purpose. 
He  will  foretell  the  way  of  God  with  men  in  the 
days  to  come,  so  far  as  that  is  revealed  in  the 
Scriptures,  carefully  avoiding  all  personal  spec- 
ulation as  to  details  unrevealed. 

The  ministry  of  Prophets  is  always  needed, 
but  especially  so  in  days  of  upheaval  and  break- 
down in  human  affairs.  Then,  to  men  at  their 
wits'  end,  he  is  called  upon  to  proclaim  the 
Word  of  the  Lord,  as  it  is  found  in  the  Son  of 
God.  By  so  doing  he  will  give  direction  to 
men,  following  which,  they  will  be  able  to  build 
again  the  waste  places,  and  realize  all  the  possi- 
bilities of  human  society  as  they  are  known  to 
God. 


THE  WORD  AS  THE  GOSPEL  OF  THE 
EVANGELIST 

THE  third  phase  of  the  Ministry  of  the 
Word  referred  to  by  the  Apostle  is 
that  of  the  EvangeHst.  In  deahng 
with  the  subject  of  the  Ministry,  generally,  we 
thus  defined  his  work;  The  Evangelist  has  to 
apply  the  aspects  of  Truth  zvhich  inspire  hope.  He 
declares  the  facts  of  the  Evangel,  He  is  a  man  of 
Life  and  Love. 

In  turning  to  a  more  careful  examination 
of  the  subject  we  are  at  once  arrested  by  the 
word  itself.  As  in  the  case  of  the  word  prophet, 
the  word  Evangelist  comes  into  our  language 
by  transliteration.  That  of  course  is  true  also 
of  the  word  Apostle.  The  Greek  word  euagge- 
listes  has  become  evangelist.  The  arresting 
fact  however  is  that  this  is  a  new  word  in  the 
Greek  language,  unknown  apart  from  the 
Christian  fact.  It  is  Biblical  and  ecclesiastical, 
the  word  of  the  Bible  and  the  Church.  De- 
rived from  well-known  words,  all  of  which  how- 

9a 


THE  GOSPEL  OF  THE  EVANGELIST  93 

ever  acquired  new  meaning^  in  their  Christian 
use,  this  particular  word,  describing  the  men 
called  to  the  definite  work  of  proclaiming  the 
Gospel,  was  created  for  this  sacred  use.  Again 
we  shall  follow  the  same  method  of  considera- 
tion, dealing  in  turn  with.  The  Evangelistic 
Gift,  The  Evangelistic  Function,  and  The  Evan- 
gelistic Gospel. 

In  dealing  with  the  gift  referred  to  by  the 
Apostle  in  his  statement  that  "  He  gave  .  .  . 
some  Evangelists,"  we  will  once  more  give  at- 
tention to  the  suggestiveness  of  the  new  Testa- 
ment group  of  words  connected  with  the  idea. 
They  are  three;  first,  euaggelizo,  that  is  to 
evangelize,  or  to  preach  the  Gospel;  second, 
^uaggelio7i,  that  is  the  Evangel,  or  the  Gospel; 
and  third,  euaggelistes^  that  is  the  Evangelist. 
Of  these  the  second  two  are  derivatives  of  the 
first;  while  that  is  a  compound  of  two  words, 
eu,  good;  and  aggellb,  to  bring  tidings,  or  to 
announce.  Thus  to  evangelize  is  to  proclaim 
good  tidings;  the  Evangel  is  the  message  of 
good  tidings;  while  the  Evangelist  is  the  one 
who  proclaims  good  tidings.  The  central  con- 
ception of  the  words  is  that  of  a  message  sent, 
by  someone  to  someone.  That  conception  is 
qualified  by  the  word  eu^  meaning  good  or  glad. 


94  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

and  gives  character  to  the  thought,  as  it  sug- 
gests that  it  is  a  message  which  the  sender  is 
glad  to  send,  and  the  receiver  will  be  glad  to 
receive. 

When  we  turn  from  the  words  in  themselves 
to  their  use  in  the  New  Testament,  we  find 
that  all  these  conceptions  are  present,  and  are 
intensified  and  made  superlative  by  the  nature 
of  the  Message  which  is  to  be  proclaimed.  The 
strength  of  the  idea  everywhere  is  twofold. 
The  first  element  is  that  of  the  goodness  of  the 
news.  It  is  news  such  as  to  bring  joy  to  the 
heart  of  those  who  hear  it.  It  is  tidings  of 
great  joy  to  all  people.  The  greatness  of  it, 
and  the  gladness  of  it  thrill  and  throb  through 
every  reference  to  it,  and  constitute  the  first 
element  of  its  strength.  The  second  element 
is  that  of  the  fact  that  it  is  sent.  It  is  news 
from  God,  and  He  sends  it  to  men.  Therein  is 
a  revelation  of  His  attitude  towards  men  in 
their  need,  in  their  sin,  in  their  sorrow.  His 
purpose  for  them  is  that  of  goodness,  and  He 
has  news  for  them  of  how  that  purpose  may  be 
fulfilled.  That  good  news  He  has  sent  to  them. 
These  facts  make  the  Evangel,  the  Gospel,  the 
message  from  God,  of  the  utmost  importance, 
of  the  first  urgency,  of  supreme  delight.     It  is 


GOSPEL  OF  THE  EVANGELIST      95 

important  because  it  is  the  message  of  God; 
urgent  because  it  has  to  do  with  human  need; 
and  dehghtful  because  it  is  good  news,  news 
that  tells  of  a  way  of  deliverance  from  all  that 
harms  and  hurts. 

The  Gospel  is  variously  described  in  the  New 
Testament  writings,  and  the  phrases  are  in 
themselves  interesting  and  illuminative.  In  the 
Gospels  we  read  of  "  The  Gospel  of  the  King- 
dom of  God";  in  the  Acts  of  ''The  Gospel  of 
the  Grace  of  God";  in  the  Epistles  of  *'The 
Gospel  of  God,"  and  of  "The  Gospel  of  Christ"; 
in  the  Apocalypse  of  "  an  eternal  Gospel."  It 
may  be  that  these  phrases  have  dispensational 
values,  that  is  that  they  suggest  the  various 
applications  of  the  Gospel  to  various  ages,  or 
periods.  With  that  aspect  of  their  significance 
I  am  not  now  interested.  That  which  impresses 
me  is  the  unveiling  I  find  in  them  of  different 
aspects  of  the  one  Gospel,  for  finally  there  is 
but  one  Gospel.  In  the  phrase  "  the  Gospel 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God,"  I  hear  the  note 
of  authority.  The  good  news  cannot  be 
doubted,  for  it  is  a  royal  proclamation,  coming 
with  all  the  majesty  of  the  Throne  behind  it. 
The  phrase  "  The  Gospel  of  the  Grace  of  God  " 
at  once  reminds  me  that  the  King  is  merciful 


96  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

and  full  of  compassion,  and  I  know  that  the 
good  news  is  a  message  of  infinite  and  unfath- 
omable Love.  The  phrase  "  The  Gospel  of 
God  "  calls  back  to  the  mind  the  fact  that  the 
King  is  God,  that  the  Lover  is  God,  and  so 
makes  the  sense  of  the  authority  of  the  good 
news  absolute,  and  the  consciousness  of  the 
love,  such  as  to  banish  all  doubt.  The  phrase 
"  The  Gospel  of  Christ "  speaks  of  the  avail- 
ability to  man  of  all  the  grace  promised  in  the 
message,  for  He  is  the  Anointed  of  the  Father, 
both  as  King  and  Priest,  so  that  through  Him 
men  may  find  their  way  into  the  Kingdom 
through  His  Saviourhood.  Such  are  the  gen- 
eral impressions  made  by  the  prevalent  idea  in 
the  New  Testament  writings.  Let  us  take  time 
to  consider  a  little  more  particularly  the  place 
of  the  idea  therein. 

Here  I  begin  with  some  incidental  but  none 
the  less  interesting  and  illuminative  notes. 
The  idea  is  not  of  frequent  occurrence  in  Mat- 
thew; the  verb  being  found  once,  and  the  noun 
four  times.  In  Mark  the  noun  only  is  found; 
it  is  however  the  very  key-note  of  his  story,  as 
witness  the  opening  phrase,  "  The  beginning 
of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ."  In  Luke  the  verb 
only  is  found;  he  being  supremely  concerned 


GOSPEL  OF  THE  EVANGELIST      97 

with  the  proclamation.  John  never  employs 
either  term  save  in  the  Apocalypse,  where  the 
noun  is  found  twice.  In  the  Acts  it  is  found 
more  frequently,  the  verb  predominates,  the 
noun  occurring  twice,  and  the  word  Evangelist 
once.  In  the  letters  of  Paul  the  idea  is  constant, 
and  the  use  of  both  noun  and  verb  is  common; 
the  word  Evangelist  is  found  twice. 

In  the  historic  sequence  of  the  mission  of  our 
Lord  we  find  the  word  Evangel  first  used  by 
Gabriel  in  his  message  to  Zacharias  concerning 
the  birth  of  John  the  forerunner.  *'  I  was  sent 
to  speak  unto  thee,  and  to  bring  thee  this  evan- 
gel/' It  was  used  again  by  an  angel  of  the  Lord 
as  he  said  to  the  shepherds,  "  Behold,  I  bring 
you  an  evangel  of  great  joy  which  shall  be  to  all 
people."  Describing  the  preaching  of  the  herald 
John,  Luke  employs  it  as  he  says,  "  With  many 
other  exhortations  preached  he  the  evangel  unto 
the  people."  Mark,  describing  the  commence- 
ment of  the  more  public  preaching  ministry  of 
the  Lord,  says,  "J^sus  came  into  Galilee,  preach- 
ing the  evangel  of  God."  In  the  Acts  the  refer- 
ence first  in  order  to  this  aspect  of  ministry  is 
found  in  the  words,  "And  every  day,  in  the  tem- 
ple and  at  home,  they  ceased  not  to  teach,  and 
to  evangelise  Jesus  as  the  Christ." 


98  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

These  are  but  illustrations,  and  are  given  to 
show  how  this  conception  of  evangelization 
characterized  the  ministry  of  John,  of  the  Lord 
Himself,  and  of  His  earliest  messengers.  They 
all  went  out  among  men  with  the  joyful  as- 
surance that  they  had  good  news  to  tell  them. 

As  we  carefully  follow  the  revelation  through 
the  history,  and  through  the  writings,  we  can- 
not fail  to  observe  the  growing  apprehension  of 
the  content  and  value  of  the  Gospel,  which 
came  to  these  men.  They  came  to  think  and 
speak  of  it  as  a  glorious  Gospel,  a  Gospel  pro- 
ceeding from  the  happy  God, — for  so  we  may 
read  the  words,  "  the  ever-blessed  God."  They 
found  it  to  be  a  lonely  Gospel;  if  men  preached 
other  gospels  they  were  not  gospels,  for  there 
was  but  this  one.  They  proved  as  they 
preached  it,  that  it 'was  a  powerful  Gospel,  of 
which  not  to  be  ashamed,  even  in  Rome.  They 
realized  growingly  that  it  was  a  testing  Gospel, 
dividing  men  as  they  heard  it,  into  two  distinct 
classes,  those  of  believers,  and  unbelievers,  and 
so  those  elected  to  life  and  glory,  and  those 
doomed  to  death  and  shame;  the  division  and 
electing  resulting  from  their  response  to  the 
message. 

The  gift  of  the  Evangelist  is  that  special  qua!- 


GOSPEL  OF  THE  EVANGELIST      99 

ification  which  fits  a  man  for  proclaiming  that 
good  news  to  men  powerfully  and  prevailingly. 
He  gave — and  He  gives — some  Evangelists. 

The  evangelistic  function  then  is  patently 
that  of  proclaiming  this  Gospel.  Its  special 
emphasis  in  the  commission  of  our  Lord  is 
found  in  that  recorded  by  Mark/  *'  Go  ye 
into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to 
the  whole  creation  "  (Mark  xvi.  15).  In  this 
phrase  "  preach  the  Gospel "  the  verb  ^uag- 
gelizo  is  not  employed.  The  noun  etiagge- 
lion  is  preceded  by  the  verb  kerusso,  which 
means  to  proclaim  as  a  herald,  or  simply  to  her- 
ald. The  command  is  to  herald  the  good  news. 
Thus  the  phrase  is  rich  in  its  revelation  of  the 
function  of  the  Evangelist.  The  command  to 
herald  the  Gospel  gives  the  note  of  authority  to 
evangelistic  preaching.  It  speaks  of  the  au- 
thorizing King;  considers  the  message  as  au- 
thorized; and  thus  creates  the  authority  of  the 
messenger.  This  aspect  of  the  work  of  the 
Evangelist  implicates  the  claim  of  God  upon 
man,  and  the  consequent  duty  of  man  towards 
the  message  which  God  sends.  While  the  mes- 
sage is  one  of  infinite  grace,  good  news  indeed; 

*  The  commission  as  recorded  by  the  four  Evangelists 
must  not  be  confounded.    See  my  Missionary  Manifesto. 


loo  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

it  comes  from  the  King,  and  therefore  it  is  not 
one  which  man  can  treat  Hghtly.  Upon  his  re- 
ception of  it,  issues  of  tremendous  and  age-abid- 
ing importance  depend.  If  the  Prophet  comes 
to  men  with  the  authoritative  formula,  "Thus 
saith  the  Lord,*'  so  also  does  the  Evangelist, 
and  this  he  will  never  forget.  He  offers  a  mes- 
sage of  incomparable  grace,  but  it  is  the  procla- 
mation of  eternal  government,  with  which  men 
must  not  trifle.  Indeed  the  one  sin  which  has 
no  forgiveness  is  that  of  refusing  to  believe  the 
message,  and  so  resolutely  declining  the  Di- 
vinely appointed  way  of  deliverance-. 

But  we  return  again  to  the  other  word  of  the 
phrase.  It  is  the  Evangel  which  is  thus  to  be 
heralded.  The  King  sends  a  message,  but.  it 
is  a  message  of  Love.  The  eternal  Govern- 
ment issues  its  proclamation,  but  it  is  a  proc- 
lamation of  Grace,  ofifering  pardon,  deliverance, 
restoration  of  all  forfeited  rights  and  privileges. 
This  aspect  of  the  work  of  the  Evangelist  im- 
plicates the  need  of  man,  and  the  Grace  of  God. 
And  this  is  the  supreme  matter.  The  function 
of  the  Evangelist  is  not  that  of  denouncing  sin ; 
nor  is  it  that  of  discussing  judgment  in  the  sense 
of  punishment.  Both  these  things  he  will  cer- 
tainly have  to  do  in  the  course  of  his  preaching, 


GOSPEL  OF  THE  EVANGELIST     loi 

but  he  cannot  end  with  them.  They  are  not 
the  things  he  is  specifically  called  upon  to  do. 
He  is  sent  to  sinning  men,  to  men  under  sen- 
tence of  punishment,  to  tell  them  of  God's  pro- 
vision for  their  forgiveness,  cleansing,  deliver- 
ance. The  Evangelist  then  comes  ever  w^ith 
joy  and  gladness.  He  is  a  man  alive  with  the 
tremendous  fact  that  God  has  found  a  way  by 
which  His  banished  ones  may  return;  and  his 
preaching  must  ever  be  vibrant  with  the  pas- 
sionate joy  of  it  in  his  own  soul.  A  gloomy, 
pessimistic  Evangelist  is  a  contradiction  of 
terms.  An  Evangelist,  cheerful  even  to  hilarity, 
and  optimistic  in  spite  of  the  most  utter  hope- 
lessness in  human  thinking,  is  in  the  natural  or- 
der. The  Evangelist  goes  out  in  faith,  in  love, 
in  hope.  To  take  the  central  word  first.  He 
goes  out  in  love,  because  he  is  the  messenger 
of  the  King  of  Love,  and  the  message  he  bears 
is  the  love  message  of  God.  The  love  of  God  is 
shed  abroad  in  his  heart.  The  love  of  Christ 
constraineth  him.  Therefore  he  loves  those  to 
whom  he  is  sent,  and  that  in  spite  of  all  their 
unworthiness,  their  defilement,  their  folly;  for 
this  is  the  Love  of  God,  the  Love  of  Christ. 
He  goes  out  in  faith;  that  is  faith  in  God,  in  his 
message,  and  therefore  in  all  those  to  whom  he 


I02  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

is  sent.  As  in  the  days  of  His  flesh  the  faith 
which  the  Son  of  God  had  in  the  sons  of  men 
was  the  very  inspiration  of  their  faith  in  him, 
so  is  it  still  with  those  who  herald  His  Evangel. 
And  so  he  goes  out  in  hope.  He  knows  nothing 
of  hopeless  cases  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
power  of  his  Gospel,  and  therefore  his  business 
is  to  inspire  hope  in  the  most  desponding  and 
dejected. 

The  Evangelist  goes  into  all  the  world,  that 
is  to  the  whole  creation,  groaning  and  travail- 
ing together  in  pain;  he  faces  its  sorrow,  its 
sighing,  and  its  sin,  where  they  all  originate,  in 
man;  and  his  message  is  a  royal  proclamation  of 
Grace.  He  publishes  the  good  news  that  what 
man  cannot  do  for  himself,  or  for  the  creation, 
God  in  Christ  has  done;  and  that  therefore 
there  is  hope  for  man,  and  through  him,  as  he 
becomes  in  a  new  sense  a  son  of  God,  for  the 
whole  creation  beneath  him. 

We  may  now  consider  the  Evangel  which  is 
thus  to  be  proclaimed.  That  Gospel  is  con- 
tained in  the  first  four  books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. It  is  not  without  significance  that  the 
Church  has  named  the  writers  Evangelists. 
Two  of  them  were  Apostles,  and  two  of  them 
were   closely   associated   with   the   Apostles   in 


GOSPEL  OF  THE  EVANGELIST     103 

their  service.  Yet  the  nature  of  their  apostoHc 
writings  constituted  them  Evangelists  in  very 
deed,  for  the  story  they  tell  is  that  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  Saviour  of 
the  world.     That  story  is  the  Gospel. 

In  Paul's  final  summary  of  instructions  to 
Timothy,  we  find  a  paragraph  bounded  by  two 
injunctions ;  "  Preach  the  Word  " ;  and  "  Do  the 
work  of  an  Evangelist,  fulfil  thy  ministry " 
(2  Tim.  iv.  2-5).  Again  therefore  the  Word  is 
the  Gospel.  The  Evangelist  is  doing  his  work, 
not  when  he  is  telling  anecdotes, — though  these 
may  be  of  great  value  when  they  are  true  and 
subservient;  he  is  doing  his  work  when  he  is 
telling  the  One  Story  of  Jesus.  This  marks  the 
limitation  of  his  message.  The  limitation  does 
not  mean  that  his  message  is  narrow  or  super- 
ficial. It  is  as  broad  as  the  love  of  God,  and 
as  profound  as  humanity's  deepest  spiritual 
needs.  In  the  preaching  of  the  Word  by  the 
Evangelist,  the  emphasis  is  on  the  message  of 
God  to  men,  as  it  meets  their  first  needs,  which 
are  fundamental.  The  Evangel  is  God's  love 
message  to  men.  The  whole  of  it  is  nowhere 
more  perfectly  summarized  than  in  those  most 
familiar,  but  most  sublime  words ;  "  God  so 
loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten 


I04  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  on  Him  should 
not  perish,  but  have  eternal  life."  That  is  the 
Gospel.  If  that  is  a  perfect  summary,  we  may 
find  perhaps  the  most  perfect  analysis  of  content 
in  the  words  of  our  Lord  concerning  the  mis- 
sion of  the  Spirit  in  the  world,  spoken  to  His 
disciples  in  the  course  of  the  paschal  discourses 
(John  xvi.  8-11).  We  will  confine  ourselves 
then  to  that  passage,  endeavouring  to  under- 
stand its  main  teaching. 

Let  us  first  observe  the  subjects  with  which 
the  Spirit  deals  in  His  ministry  in  the  world; 
"  He  .  .  ,  will  convict  the  world  in  respect 
of  sin,  and  of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment." 

These  are  the  fundamental  things  of  human 
consciousness,  when  the  soul  is  spiritually  awak- 
ened. That  awakening  may  come  in  a  thou- 
sand ways;  it  may  come  over  and  over  again, 
without  producing  any  effect  whatever  upon 
life.  But  whenever  it  comes,  these  are  the  mat- 
ters of  which  the  soul  is  conscious,  sin,  right- 
eousness, judgment. 

Sin  is  first  a  volitional  spiritual  act;  and  then 
it  is  an  experience  resulting  from  the  act.  The 
spiritual  act  is  that  of  disobedience.  The  ex- 
perience resulting  is  that  of  ruin.  To  say  that 
sin  is  disobedience  implies  two  things.    Of  these 


GOSPEL  OF  THE  EVANGELIST     105 

the  first  is  that  of  the  relation  of  God  to  man; 
that  He  is  Sovereign,  and  that  His  law  is  the 
true  standard  of  human  life.  The  second  is  that 
of  man's  relation  to  God;  that  he  is  capable  of 
obedience  to  the  law  of  God,  and  consequently 
that  he  is  responsible.  Sin  fundamentally  then 
is  the  wilful  act  of  disobedience  on  the  part  of 
man,  to  the  law  of  the  Sovereign  Lord  to  Whom 
man  owes  allegiance. 

The  resulting  experience  of  ruin  is  that  of  the 
alienation  of  the  soul  from  God.  This  issues 
in  suffering,  and  in  paralysis,  both  individually 
and  socially.  Man  out  of  fellowship  with  God 
has  lost  the  secret  of  joy,  and  of  power;  and  so 
is  unable  to  realize  his  life  personally  and  rela- 
tively. The  soul  of  man  spiritually  awakened, 
comes  to  this  consciousness. 

Righteousness  is  first  a  volitional  spiritual  atti- 
tude ;  and  then  it  is  an  experience  resulting  from 
that  attitude.  The  spiritual  attitude  is  that  of 
obedience.  The  experience  resulting  is  that 
of  realization.  To  say  that  righteousness  is 
obedience,  implies  exactly  the  same  things  as 
to  say  that  sin  is  disobedience;  those  namely, 
first  of  the  Sovereignty  of  God,  and  secondly 
of  the  capacity  and  responsibility  of  man. 
Righteousness  fundamentally  then,  is  the  will- 


io6  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

ing  attitude  of  obedience  on  the  part  of  man  to 
the  good  and  acceptable  and  perfect  will  of  God. 

The  resulting  experience  of  realization  is  that 
of  the  fellowship  of  the  soul  with  God.  This 
issues  in  peace  and  joy,  by  the  Holy  Spirit's 
enablement,  both  individually  and  socially. 
Man  in  fellowship  with  God  possesses  the  secret 
of  joy  and  of  power;  and  so  is  able  to  realize  his 
life  personally  and  relatively.  The  soul  of  man, 
spiritually  awakened,  comes  to  this  conscious- 
ness. It  is  involved  in  that  of  sin.  Sin  is  the 
consciousness  of  failure.  Righteousness  is  the 
consciousness  of  the  ideal. 

Judgment  is  government,  executive  action, 
administration  on  the  part  of  God.  It  is  that 
activity  whereby  He  realizes  His  purposes,  es- 
tablishes and  maintains  order.  It  marks  there- 
fore the  centre  of  human  responsibility.  Right- 
eousness in  human  life  is  right  relationship  with 
that  judgment.  Sin  is  rebellion  against  it,  which 
nevertheless  cannot  escape  from  its  activity. 
Judgment  then  in  the  case  of  man  is  that  activ- 
ity of  God,  wherein  He  rewards  the  righteous, 
and  punishes  the  wicked.  The  soul  of  man 
spiritually  awakened  comes  to  this  conscious- 
ness.    It  knows  that  judgment  is  active. 

These  then,  the  fundamental  things  of  human 


GOSPEL  OF  THE  EVANGELIST     107 

consciousness  spiritually  awakened,  are  the 
things  concerning  which  the  Spirit  of  God  has 
a  message,  which  message  He  delivers  through 
those  called  to  be  Evangelists.  That  message 
is  the  Gospel.  The  Gospel  is  the  Word  of  the 
Cross.  The  Word  of  the  Cross  is  infinitely 
more  than  the  story  of  the  crucifixion.  It  is 
first  the  story  of  the  Word  made  flesh;  the 
presentation  of  the  Person  of  Christ.  It  is  then 
the  story  of  the  work  of  Christ;  which  includes 
the  Cross,  the  resurrection,  and  the  ascension. 
It  is  finally  the  story  of  the  claim  of  Christ;  the 
declaration  of  the  appeal  which  the  Word  of 
the  Cross  makes  to  all  those  who  hear  it. 

The  Gospel  first  presents  the  Person  of 
Christ.  He  is  God  manifest,  in  His  character, 
in  His  law,  in  His  activity.  He  is  also  Man 
unveiled,  in  His  capacity,  in  His  obedience,  in 
His  realization.  So  also  therefore  He  is  the 
One  Whose  presence  in  human  history  has 
unmasked  evil,  as  the  opposite  of  all  that  is  in 
God,  and  the  secret  of  human  undoing.  All 
this  is  the  first  part  of  the  Gospel,  the  light  in 
which  man  discovers  the  truth. 

The  heart  of  the  Gospel  is  the  story  of  the 
work  of  Christ,  and  of  how  He  brings  sin, 
righteousness,  and  judgment  into  relationship 


io8  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

with  Himself.  Returning  to  our  passage  we 
find  His  declaration,  to  which  we  need  to  pay- 
close  attention. 

"  Of  sin,  because  they  believe  not  on  Me." 
In  these  words  our  Lord  made  His  superlative 
claim  to  perfect  Saviourhood.  By  using  them, 
He  claimed  to  have  provided  perfect  salvation 
for  men.  All  the  fact  of  sin  He  has  dealt  with. 
He  is  able  to  forgive,  to  cleanse,  to  restore.  Sin 
now  has  a  new  meaning.  It  is  the  rejection  of 
the  Saviour.  This  Saviour  is  God  the  Sovereign 
Lord.  To  re^ject  His  grace  then  is  the  final 
and  irremediable  sin  against  His  government. 
To  yield  to  His  grace  is  the  central  act  of  sur- 
render to  His  government.  It  is  the  act  that 
introduces  the  soul  to  the  attitude  of  right  rela- 
tionship. That  is  the  first  note  of  the  good 
news,  which  declares  that  "  He  died  for  our 
sins." 

"  Of  righteousness,  because  I  go  to  the 
Father;  and  ye  behold  Me  no  more."  In  these 
words  our  Lord  made  His  superlative  claim  to 
absolute  authority,  and  spiritual  power.  He 
not  only  died  for  our  sins,  He  rose  for  our 
justification,  and  ascended  to  the  right  hand  of 
the  Father  to  receive  gifts  for  men.  Men,  no 
longer  beholding  Him  with  the  eyes  of  sense. 


GOSPEL  OF  THE  EVANGELIST     109 

may  yet  be  brought  into  such  Hving  fellowship 
with  Him,  that  in  them  may  be  fulfilled  the 
ideal  of  righteousness.  That  is  the  second  note 
of  the  Gospel. 

"  Of  judgment,  because  the  prince  of  this 
world  hath  been  judged."  In  these  words  He 
made  His  superlative  claim  to  complete  victory. 
The  Stronger  than  the  strong  has  wrested  the 
usurped  sceptre  from  the  enemy;  and  hence- 
forth He  exercises  His  executive  authority, 
delivering  those  that  are  bound,  and  moving 
ever  triumphantly  forward  towards  the  consum- 
mation, when  He  shall  deliver  up  the  perfected 
Kingdom  to  His  Father.  This  is  the  final  and 
triumphant  note  of  the  Gospel. 

The  Evangelist  is  called  to  declare  that  mes- 
sage, to  herald  that  good  news;  and  then  to 
urge  the  claims  of  Christ.  Those  claims  are 
threefold.  He  asks  for  confidence,  for  loyalty, 
for  cooperation.  Faith  in  Him  is  the  condition 
of  salvation ;  loyalty  to  Him  the  law  of  life;  and 
cooperation  with  Him  the  activity  of  His  own. 

Thus  then  is  revealed  the  Gospel  of  the 
Evangelist.  It  is  the  Word  of  God  which  pro- 
claims His  perfect  provision  in  Christ  for  all 
human  need.  The  gift  is  still  bestowed  and 
needed. 


no  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

Ever  and  anon  the  Head  of  the  Church  has 
sent  forth  some  Evangehst  whose  message  has 
arrested  the  attention  of  the  multitudes  to  such 
an  extent  that  nations  have  been  moved  to 
their  very  depths.  Such  times  have  been  v^on- 
derful  times.  We  necessarily  long  and  pray 
that  they  should  be  repeated.  We  need  to  be 
careful  however  lest  such  longing  and  prayer 
should  make  us  neglectful  of  the  work  of 
perpetual  evangelization,  for  the  doing  of  which 
gifts  are  constantly  bestowed.  When  God 
sends  Francis,  or  Wesley,  or  Whitefield,  or 
Jonathan  Edwards,  or  Finney,  or  Moody  and 
Sankey,  let  us  rejoice,  and  cooperate  with  them ; 
but  in  days  when  no  conspicuous  and  outstand- 
ing personality  is  with  us,  let  us  recognize  and 
help  gladly  all  those,  oftentimes  simple  and 
obscure  souls,  who  know  the  joy  of  the  Gospel, 
and  are  specially  qualified  to  proclaim  it  in  the 
ordinary  ways  of  their  more  regular  and  quiet 
life.  And  moreover,  let  every  man  or  woman 
who  is  possessed  by  this  joy  and  power  for 
evangelism  exercise  their  gifts  constantly  and 
restfully. 

If  I  may  venture  to  quote  a  modern  illustra- 
tion of  real  success  in  evangelistic  work,  I  shall 
refer  to  a  man  whom  I  have  known  intimately 


GOSPEL  OF  THE  EVANGELIST     iii 

for  over  a  generation.  That  man  is  Gipsy 
Smith.  He  is  one  of  God's  great  gifts  to  His 
Church.  I  refer  to  him  only  to  say  that,  under 
God,  his  success  has  been  largely  due  to  the 
fact  that  he  has  given  himself  wholly  to  evan- 
gelism. He  has  never  attempted  the  work  of 
Apostle,  of  Prophet,  of  Pastor  and  Teacher. 
But  he  has  given  himself  with  all  devotion  of 
mind  and  heart  and  will,  both  to  the  work  of 
understanding  the  Gospel,  and  proclaiming  it. 
His  widespread  popularity  is  accidental.  He 
has  never  sought  it.  Had  he  done  so  he  would 
not  have  had  such  conspicuous  success. 

Not  every  Evangelist  is  called  to  paths  of 
service  which  result  in  popularity.  Every 
Evangelist  is  called  to  devotion  to  his  message 
and  to  its  proclamation.  Let  the  Evangelist 
magnify  his  office,  as  he  glories  in  his  Gospel. 


THE  WORD  AS  THE  WISDOM  OF  THE 
PASTOR  AND  TEACHER 

IN  our  preliminary  chapter  on  "  Ministry  " 
we   described   Pastors   and   Teachers   as: 
Those  zvho  receive  the  obedient,  and  shepherd 
and  instruct  them. 

That  definition  properly  links  their  work  with 
that  of  Apostles,  Prophets,  and  Evangelists. 
The  apostolic  teaching  is  that  which  the  Pastor 
and  Teacher  interprets  and  applies  to  those  who 
are  brought  into  the  fellowship  of  the  Church. 
The  work  of  the  Prophet  will  inevitably  result 
in  the  turning  of  those  who  hear  and  are  influ- 
enced by  the  message,  to  the  Church  for  in- 
struction. To  these  the  Pastor  and  Teacher 
will  minister,  as  he  sets  forth  the  way  of  life 
more  perfectly.  This  statement  involves  the 
truth  that  every  living  Church  should  be  so  or- 
ganized that  provision  is  made  for  those  who 
are  inquiring.     Here  the  far-seeing  wisdom  of 

112 


WISDOM  OF  PASTOR  AND  TEACHER  113 

John  Wesley  was  manifested,  in  that  his  Society 
classes  were  formed  for  those  who  were  so  in- 
quiring, as  well  as  for  those  who  had  come  to 
definite  and  conscious  relationship  with  Christ. 
The  work  of  the  Evangelist,  which  is  specifically 
that  of  proclaiming  the  Evangel,  and  bringing 
men  into  definite  relationship  with  Christ,  de- 
mands most  especially  the  work  of  the  Pastor 
and  Teacher.  Those  who  are  new-born  need 
care;  and  the  work  of  shepherding  and  teaching 
them  is  that  of  the  Pastor  and  Teacher.  Thus 
we  see  that  there  is  no  conflict  in  the  nature  of 
the  case  between  the  different  phases  of  this 
ministry  of  the  Word.  They  are  complemen- 
tary. None  is  complete  without  the  rest.  Each 
is  completed  in  the  work  of  all. 

This  particular  phase  of  the  Ministry  of  the 
Word  is  defined  by  two  words.  Pastors  and 
Teachers.  These  terms  are  mutually  interpre- 
tive as  we  shall  see.  This  is  the  only  occasion 
of  the  occurrence  of  the  particular  word  Pastor 
in  the  New  Testament,  either  in  the  Authorized 
or  Revised  Versions.  Elsewhere  the  Greek 
word  is  translated  Shepherd.  It  has  however 
passed  into  the  currency  of  Church  terms,  and 
is  valuable  and  suggestive.  We  shall  follow  the 
method  of  previous   studies,   and   consider  in 


114  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

turn;  The  Pastoral  Gift;  Function;  and  Wis- 
dom. 

In  considering  the  Gift  we  turn  first  to  the 
words  themselves,  that  we  may  gather  their 
first  and  simple  suggestions. 

Our  word  Pastor  comes  to  us  from  the  Latin 
pastorem,  which  means  shepherd,  and  is  derived 
from  the  verb  to  feed.  The  Greek  word  in  the 
text,  of  which  Pastor  is  a  translation,  is  the 
word  poimht,  which  is  the  word  for  shepherd, 
but  the  affinity  of  which  is  uncertain.  It  has 
been  suggested  by  some  that  it  is  akin  to  pdia^ 
herbage,  grass;  *  and  by  others  that  it  is  derived 
from  a  root  meaning  to  protect.  Seeing  that 
this  question  of  affinity  is  uncertain,  we  may 
treat  the  word  as  a  primitive  one,  and  so  employ 
it,  according  to  its  constant  use,  as  referring  to 
a  shepherd,  whose  work  it  ever  is  to  find  pastur- 
age and  to  protect. 

The  word  Teacher  is  a  translation  of  the 
Greek  word  didaskalos,  which  is  clearly  derived 
from  didaskb,  which  is  the  causative  form  of  the 
verb  dady  to  learn.  Hence  our  word  Teacher 
conveys  the  exact  sense. 

'  Some  render  pota  in  James  iv.  14,  "  Grass  is  your  life." 
Most  agree  however  that  poia  there  is  the  feminine  of 
poios,  of  what  nature? 


WISDOM  OF  PASTOR  AND  TEACHER  115 

The  use  of  the  two  words  here  to  describe 
the  one  office  is,  as  we  have  already  said,  of  the 
nature  of  interpretation.  On  the  purely  natural 
level  the  word  Pastor  has  to  do  with  sheep,  and 
the  thoughts  of  feeding  and  protection  are  suf- 
ficient. When  it  is  used  of  the  flock  of  the 
Shepherd  of  souls,  it  needs  the  explanation  of 
the  word  Teacher,  which  at  once  reveals  the 
method  of  feeding  and  protection. 

In  our  Lord's  use  of  the  figure  of  the  Shep- 
herd as  apphed  to  Himself  (see  John  x.),  the 
idea  is  radiantly  set  forth.  The  shepherd  knows 
his  sheep,  and  is  known  of  the  sheep.  The 
shepherd  takes  oversight  of  his  sheep;  that  is, 
he  exercises  rule  over  them,  leading  them  out 
and  in.  The  shepherd  finds  pasture  for  his 
sheep.  The  sihepherd  defends  the  sheep ;  if 
necessary,  laying  down  his  life  that  they  may 
be  preserved  from  the  ravening  wolf. 

In  our  Lord's  work  as  a  Teacher  we  have  the 
final  interpretation  of  the  method.  It  is  that  of 
imparting  knowledge,  carefully,  patiently,  pro- 
gressively, arid  purposefully. 

Thus  the  thought  suggested  by  the  double 
description  is  that  of  shepherding  through 
teaching,  and  of  teaching  as  a  shepherd.  The 
work  of  the  shepherd  is  to  be  done  by  teaching. 


ii6  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

The  sheep  are  to  be  made  to  know  the  Chief 
Shepherd,  to  submit  to  His  rule,  to  shelter 
within  His  defence,  to  avail  themselves  of  His 
pasture,  by  careful,  patient,  progressive,  pur- 
poseful instruction.  The  measure  in  which  this 
can  be  done  is  the  measure  in  which  the  Pastor 
is  a  Teacher, — himself  taught  in  these  very 
ways,  and  submitted  to  the  teaching.  The 
work  of  teaching  is  to  be  done  in  the  spirit  of 
the  Shepherd.  There  must  be  concern  to  know 
the  sheep,  to  exercise  a  true  rule  over  them,  to 
defend  them  at  all  costs,  to  provide  their  meat  in 
due  season.  The  measure  in  which  this  can  be 
done  is  the  measure  in  which  the  Teacher  is  a 
Pastor,  so  intimately  in  fellowship  with  the 
Shepherd  heart  of  the  Lord,  as  to  be  able  to  feed 
the  lambs,  to  shepherd  the  sheep,  to  feed  the 
sheep. 

The  place  of  the  idea  in  the  New  Testament 
is  assured.  That  of  the  Shepherd,  as  the  figure 
of  the  true  nature  of  rule  and  authority,  is  an 
Old  Testament  idea,  but  it  is  carried  over  into 
the  New;  and  it  is  there  that  it  finds  its  final 
interpretation  in  the  Person  and  work  of  Christ 
Himself.  Paul's  employment  of  the  word 
*'  Pastors  "  here  is  the  only  occasion  where  the 
word  Shepherd  is  fig^uratively  made  use  of  in 


WISDOM  OF  PASTOR  AND  TEACHER  117 

the  New  Testament  for  any  other  than  Christ. 
Luke  employs  the  word  four  times  in  the  early 
part  of  his  Gospel;  not  in  a  figurative  sense,  but 
definitely,  of  those  who  were  keeping  watch 
over  their  flocks  by  night  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Bethlehem.  Matthew,  Mark,  and  John  use  it 
only  of  Christ.  In  describing  the  attitude  of 
the  Lord  towards  the  multitudes  which  He  saw 
as  He  went  from  place  to  place,  teaching, 
preaching,  healing,  Matthew  says  that "  He  was 
moved  with  compassion  for  them,  because  they 
were  distressed  and  scattered  as  sheep  not  hav- 
ing a  shepherd."  Clearly  involved  in  that  state- 
ment is  the  fact  that  He  was  the  very  Shepherd 
they  needed.  Our  Lord  according  to  John 
claimed  to  be  "the  Good  Shepherd."  The 
writer  of  the  letter  to  the  Hebrews  called  Him 
"  that  Great  Shepherd."  Peter  wrote  of  Him 
as  "  the  Chief  Shepherd."  All  this  makes  the 
word  "  Pastors,"  as  describing  an  office  in  the 
ministry  of  the  Word,  the  more  suggestive  and 
sacred. 

The  word  Teacher  is  also  constantly  em- 
ployed in  the  Gospels  of  Christ  Himself;  and  in 
the  days  of  His  flesh  it  was  used  of  Him  by 
foe  and  friend.  His  work  of  teaching  is  per- 
petually  referred    to,    and   in    the    passage    in 


ii8  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

Matthew  previously  quoted,  it  is  stated  that  it 
was  as  He  went  about  teaching,  that  His  com- 
passion was  moved  for  the  multitudes.  The 
truths  He  uttered  were  persistently  described 
as  His  Teaching.  When  we  come  into  the 
Epistles  we  find  this  idea  of  teaching  is  con- 
stantly present  in  any  consideration  of  the  work 
of  the  ministry.  In  the  passage  referred  to  in 
an  earlier  consideration,  where  Paul  was  dealing 
with  the  spiritual  unity  and  organization  of  the 
Christian  Church,  he  used  the  word  "Teachers" 
alone,  to  describe  the  third  order  of  those  whom 
God  has  set  in  the  Church  to  fulfil  its  ministry. 
It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  as  we  pass  on  to 
consider  the  function  of  Pastors  and  Teachers, 
that  these  two  ideas  should  very  clearly  remain 
with  us,  as  revealing  the  method  and  manner  of 
the  work.  It  is  that  of  the  oversight  and  in- 
struction of  the  members  of  the  flock. 

In  considering  the  pastoral  function,  we  may 
change  the  figure  and  employ  a  common  one  in 
the  New  Testament  wriiings,  that  of  edification. 
The  work  of  Pastors  and  Teachers  is  that  of  edi- 
fication. In  this  word  there  are  special  values  in 
the  interpretation  of  this  subject.  It  comes  to  us 
from  the  Latin  words,  aedis,  a  building,  and 
ficdre,  to  make.     Thus  it  exactly  coincides  with 


WISDOM  OF  PASTOR  AND  TEACHER  119 

the  Greek  word,  which  is  composed  of  two 
words,  oikos,  a  house,  and  demo,  to  build.  The 
idea  of  edification  then  is  simply  that  of  con- 
structing a  building,  with  appropriate  materials. 
This  larger  conception  is  always  included. 
Whatever  is  done  with  the  material,  is  done  in 
the  interest  of  the  whole  building.  In  the  house 
of  God,  every  individual  must  be  perfected  in 
order  to  the  perfecting  of  the  whole.  Those 
attracted  by  the  Prophet,  or  enrolled  by  the 
EvangeUst,  constitute  raw  material.  The  work 
of  the  Pastor  and  Teacher  is  that  of  building 
them  up  into  the  Head,  which  is  Christ,  and  so 
into  the  Body,  which  is  the  Church.  Granted  a 
group  of  persons  who  have  heard,  believed, 
obeyed,  been  born  again ;  by  the  act  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  they  are  already  members  of  the  Christ, 
and  so  members  of  the  Church ;  but  their  life  is 
immature,  their  service  is  imperfect.  To  fall 
back  upon  the  figure  already  used,  they  consti- 
tute raw  material,  the  very  material  needed,  but 
in  the  rough.  They  need  much  labour  to  fit 
them  into  their  true  place  and  function  in  the 
house  of  God.  This  is  the  work  of  the  Pastor 
and  Teacher.  That  work  may  at  once  be  de- 
scribed as  that  of  shepherding  and  teaching 
them,  so  that  they  come  into  complete  subordi- 


I20  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

nation  to  Christ,  and  thus  into  perfect  coordina- 
tion in  the  Church. 

This  work  is  so  supremely  important  that  we ' 
will  take  time  to  look  at  it  carefully  in  both 
these  aspects,  remembering  their  vital  connec- 
tion. Neither  the  one  nor  the  other  can  be 
done  separately.  The  perfecting  of  the  indi- 
vidual is  in  order  to  the  perfecting  of  the 
Church.  The  perfecting  of  the  Church  can  only 
be  accomplished  by  the  perfecting  of  the  indi- 
vidual. 

The  subordination  of  the  individual  soul  to 
Christ  demands  three  things;  Christ  must  be 
apprehended  intelligently,  adored  emotionally, 
and  obeyed  volitionally ;  and,  as  we  shall  see, 
that  is  the  true  order. 

When  considering  the  work  of  the  Evangelist 
we  spoke  of  the  content  of  the  Gospel  as  re- 
vealed in  Christ's  words  in  the  paschal  dis- 
courses. The  Spirit's  message  is  concerned 
with  Sin,  Righteousness,  and  Judgment,  as 
these  things, — fundamental  in  the  consciousness 
of  the  spiritually  awakened  soul, — are  dealt  with 
by  Christ.  The  vision  of  tire  Lord  to  which  the 
soul  yields  itself  in  faith  may  be  that  of  His 
sufficiency  in  all  these  matters.  Or  it  may  be 
that  one  aspect  only  is  apprehended.       It  may 


WISDOM  OF  PASTOR  AND  TEACHER  121 

be  that  He  is  first  seen  as  the  Saviour  from  sin. 
It  may  be  that  His  power  to  realize  righteous- 
ness attracts  the  soul.  It  may  be  that  the  glory 
of  His  government  makes  its  appeal  to  the 
heart.  There  is  one  Lord ;  and  whatever  aspect 
of  Truth  appeals  to  the  soul,  there  is  one  faith, 
that  of  confidence  in  Him;  which  faith  leads  to 
the  one  baptism  in  the  Spirit,  whereby  the  soul 
receives  the  gift  of  life. 

Now  in  every  vision  of  Christ  all  Truth  is  im- 
plicated; but  the  implicates  are  never  immedi- 
ately seen.  This  is  a  progressive  experience, 
and  results  from  shepherding  and  teaching.  In 
order  to  perfect  subordination,  this  intellectual 
apprehension  is  necessary ;  and  to  lead  the  new- 
born to  it,  is  the  sacred  work  of  the  Pastor  and 
Teacher.  Without  staying  to  dwell  upon  it 
now,  we  may  remind  ourselves  of  the  constantly 
expressed  desire  of  Paul,  especially  in  his  later 
letters,  that  the  children  of  God  should  have  full 
knowledge  of  Christ;  and  also  of  Peter's  injunc- 
tion that  they  should  grow  in  the  grace  and 
knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ. 

Such  growing  intellectual  apprehension  al- 
ways results  in  deepening  emotional  adoration. 
The   more   perfectly  He   is  known,   the   more 


122  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

amazed  is  the  soul  at  the  surpassing  wonders  of 
His  grace  and  glory;  and  the  deeper  becomes  its 
love,  the  more  complete  its  adoration.  If  it  be 
true  as  we  sometimes  sing  that — 

"  Some  have  lost  the  love  they  had," 

then  it  is  because  they  have  for  some  reason 
failed  to  "  follow  on  to  know  the  Lord." 

Such  deepened  love  inevitably  becomes  the 
inspiration  of  more  complete  surrender  to  the 
will  of  the  Lord,  more  perfect  loyalty  to  all  His 
service.  "  If  a  man  love  Me,  he  will  keep  My 
word,"  said  the  Lord  Himself. 

Thus  it  is  evident  that  in  order  to  the  com- 
plete subordination  of  individual  believers  to  the 
Lord,  the  matter  of  first  importance  is  that  they 
should  know  Him.  To  make  Him  known  to 
them  is  the  supreme  business  of  the  Teacher, 
and  he  must  do  his  work  as  a  Shepherd,  know- 
ing, ruling,  defending,  feeding.  The  whole  con- 
ception of  this  individual  responsibility  is  per- 
fectly set  forth  by  Paul  in  the  words,  "  Admon- 
ishing every  man,  and  teaching  every  man  in  all 
wisdom,  that  we  may  present  every  man  perfect 
in  Christ"  (Col.  i.  28). 

These  words  breathe  the  true  spirit  and 
passion  of  the  Pastor  and  Teacher.     He  is  pre- 


WISDOM  OF  PASTOR  AND  TEACHER  123 

eminently  concerned  about  every  individual 
soul.  Observe  the  thrice  repeated  **  every 
man."  The  Pastor-Teacher  has  far  more  to  do 
than  to  preach  to  his  congregation.  That  un- 
questionably he  will  do,  and  his  preaching  will 
be  of  the  teaching  order.  But  "  every  man  "  is 
never  reached  in  general  teaching.  The  Pastor- 
Teacher  must  in  the  necessity  of  the  case  ac- 
quaint himself  with  the  individuals  which  make 
up  his  flock.  He  must  get  to  know  them  per- 
sonally. Every  man  has  his  own  idiosyncrasy, 
peculiarity,  problem,  temptation,  capacity. 
Therefore  if  every  man  is  to  be  presented  per- 
fect in  Christ,  every  man  must  be  considered, 
prayed  for  in  the  light  of  that  consideration,  ad- 
monished and  taught  in  wisdom  in  such  ways 
as  to  meet  his  own  particular  need. 

All  this  throws  very  clear  and  searching  light 
on  this  subject  of  pastoral  work,  correcting 
much  of  modern  irrelevancy  therein.  The  true 
Pastor  will  do  much  more  than  make  social  calls 
upon  members  of  his  flock.  That  he  will  do. 
Indeed  he  will  seek  to  mix  with  his  people  in  all 
the  interests  of  their  lives,  that  he  may  know 
them,  not  inquisitorially,  but  sympathetically. 
But  he  will  do  all  this,  never  forgetting  that  his 
particular  work  is  that  of  perfecting  them  in 


124  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

Christ,  by  admonishing  them  where  necessary, 
and  always  by  teaching  them. 

But  again.  All  this  must  be  done  with  a  view 
to  the  bringing  of  the  individual  into  coordina- 
tion with  the  Church.  It  may  be  said  that  the 
work  of  perfecting  every  man  in  Christ  is  in  it- 
self that  of  bringing  every  man  into  coordina- 
tion with  the  Church.  While  that  is  true,  it  is 
nevertheless  of  the  utmost  importance  that  this 
larger  purpose  should  always  be  kept  in  mind. 
In  this  very  connection  Paul  urged,  as  the  first 
duty  in  a  walk  worthy  of  vocation,  that  we 
should  give  "  diligence  to  keep  the  unity  of  the 
Spirit"  (Eph.  iv.  3).'  This  idea  runs  through 
his  teaching  on  ministry  in  this  epistle.  The 
aim  of  ministry  is  that  of  "  the  building  up  of 
the  body  of  Christ  "  (iv.  12)  ;  the  purpose  of  all 
articulation  within  the  body  is  that  of  "  the  in- 
crease of  the  body  unto  the  building  up  of  itself 
in  love  "  (iv.  16) ;  and  the  goal  of  everything  is 
"  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of 
Christ "  (iv.  13)  ;  which  can  only  be  realized  in 
the  whole  Church.  It  is  only  as  this  is  seen 
that  the  real  importance  of  individual  develop- 

*  The  word  he  employed,  and  which  we  have  translated 
keep,  was  ^reb,  to  observe,  that  is,  to  keep  in  view;  and  not^ 
phulasso,  to  guard. 


WISDOM  OF  PASTOR  AND  TEACHER  125 

ment  will  be  realized.  The  Pastor  and  Teacher 
then  has  to  reveal  to  the  souls  under  his  care 
the  purpose  for  which  the  Church  exists;  the 
consequent  importance  of  her  being  a  perfect  or- 
ganism; and  the  necessity  therefore  for  the 
completeness  of  the  individual  member.  In 
proportion  as  this  is  apprehended,  the  glory  of 
the  trivial,  the  responsibility  of  the  small,  the 
importance  of  the  obscure,  will  be  realized. 

Perhaps  there  is  nothing  in  which  the  Church 
has  failed  more  conspicuously  than  in  this  reali- 
zation of  spiritual  unity.  It  has  sometimes 
been  entirely  lost  sight  of;  and  at  others  has 
been  falsely  apprehended.  Yet  it  is  at  once  the 
supreme  glory  of  the  Church,  and  its  secret 
of  power  in  its  mission,  that  it  is  an  organism, 
in  which  no  member  can  fail,  without  in  the 
measure  of  that  failure  wronging  the  Body,  and 
preventing  the  true  fulfilment  of  its  function  in 
the  world.  As  one  cog  out  of  order  in  complex 
machinery  stops  the  perfect  action  of  the 
whole;  as  one  link  weak  in  a  chain  renders  the 
whole  chain  weak;  as  one  unguarded  place  in  a 
fortress  makes  the  whole  citadel  unsafe ;  so  one 
member  of  the  Church,  failing  to  realize  in  vi- 
sion and  virtue  its  responsibility  to  the  Church, 
halts  iht  Churcji  in  its  progress,     The  cog  is  for 


126  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

the  machine,  and  its  final  perfection  is  that  of  its 
relation  to  the  whole.  So  with  the  link  in  the 
chain.  So  with  every  part  of  the  fortress.  So 
also  each  member  of  the  Church,  in  life  and 
service,  is  for  the  Church.  The  work  of  the 
Pastor  then,  is  ever  that  of  coordinating  every 
several  member  within  the  whole  body  of  be- 
lievers. 

In  all  the  ministry  of  the  Word  there  is  no 
more  important  work  than  that  of  the  Pastor 
and  Teacher,  and  none  needing  more  consecra- 
tion, zeal,  and  patience.  To  fail  here  is  to  make 
abortive  all  apostolic,  prophetic,  and  evangel- 
istic labour.  It  is  with  that  conviction  that  we 
have  taken  longer  in  dealing  with  both  gift  and 
function  than  in  the  previous  considerations; 
and  also  because  in  the  natural  order  of  things, 
in  the  history  of  the  Church  more  have  received 
this  gift  than  either  of  the  others. 

The  title  selected  for  this  Lecture  is  that  of 
the  Word  as  the  Wisdom  of  the  Pastor  and 
Teacher.  Our  reason  for  employing  the  word 
Wisdom  in  this  connection  is  that  of  the  apos- 
tolic use  of  it;  especially  Paul's  teaching  con- 
cerning it,  in  his  first  Corinthian  letter;  and  his 
declaration  already  quoted  from  the  Colossian 
letter  that  the  responsibility,  of  the  ministry  is 


WISDOM  OF  PASTOR  AND  TEACHER  127 

that  of  '*  admonishing  every  man,  and  teaching 
every  man  in  all  v^isdom."  The  word  sophia 
was  perfectly  familiar  in  the  apostolic  age,  and 
the  people  who  read  these  writings  had  a  very 
clear  conception  of  what  was  intended  by  the 
term.  Aristotle  defined  sdphia  as  "  mental  ex- 
cellence in  its  highest  and  fullest  sense."  Wis- 
dom is  broad  and  full  intelligence;  not  as 
capacity  merely,  but  as  knowledge.  Wisdom  is 
in  reahty  the  sum  total  of  Truth.  It  was  in  this 
sense  that  Paul  used  the  word  when  writing  to 
the  Corinthians  he  said ;  "  We  speak  wisdom 
among  the  perfect,  yet  a  wisdom  not  of  this 
age,  nor  of  the  rulers  of  this  age  which  are  com- 
ing to  nought,  but  we  speak  God's  wisdom  in  a 
mystery"  (1  Cor.  ii.  6).  To  this  wisdom  then 
he  referred  when  he  spoke  of  "  Teaching  every 
man  in  all  wisdom."  Immediately  following 
this  declaration  we  have  a  clear  definition  of  this 
wisdom  in  which  every  man  is  to  be  taught  in 
the  words ;  "  The  mystery  of  God,  even  Christ, 
in  Whom  are  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and 
knowledge  hidden  "  (Col.  ii.  2,  3) ;  and  again 
later  in  his  injunction,  "  Let  the  Word  of  Christ 
dwell  in  you  richly  in  all  wisdom  "  (Col.  iii.  16). 
The  wisdom  in  which  the  Pastor  and  Teacher 
is  to  instruct  the  flock  of  God  is  that  of  the 


128  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

Word  of  Christ;  for  in  Him  are  all  the  treasures 
of  wisdom  and  knowledge.  To  revert  again  to 
a  phrase  which  was  under  consideration  in  a 
previous  study,  *'  As  the  truth  is  in  Jesus  ";  the 
wisdom  of  the  Christian  Church  is  the  sum  total 
of  Truth  as  that  Truth  has  had  its  exposition  in 
Jesus.  The  practical  values  of  that  wisdom  are 
all  suggested  in  the  familiar  words,  **  Christ 
Jesus,  Who  was  made  unto  us  Wisdom  from 
God ;  both  righteousness,  and  sanctification  and 
redemption"  (1  Cor.  i.  30).  I  have  intention- 
ally adopted  the  marginal  reading  of  the  Re- 
vised Version  here  because  I  hold  that  ''  Wis- 
dom from  God "  is  the  inclusive  phrase,  of 
which  the  practical  analysis  is  given  in  the 
words  "  both  righteousness  and  sanctification 
and  redemption."  Righteousness  is  that  which 
is  imputed  to  man  when  sin  is  put  away;  sancti- 
fication is  the  impartation  to  man  of  the  life 
whereby  righteousness  is  made  the  victorious 
principle  of  conduct;  redemption  is  the  final  im- 
planting of  the  likeness  of  Christ  at  His  coming, 
whereby  the  judgment  or  government  of  Christ 
will  come  to  its  full  and  perfect  victory.  This 
then  is  the  Wisdom  which  the  Pastor  and 
Teacher  must  impart;  and  these  are  the  pur- 
poses for  which  it  is  to  be  taught. 


WISDOM  OF  PASTOR  AND  TEACHER  129 

That  Wisdom  is  contained  in  the  Sacred 
Writings,  for  in  these  alone  we  have  the  litera- 
ture of  the  Christ.  This  is  a  most  important 
fact.  There  is  no  Christian  literature  which 
is  not  the  outcome  of  these  New  Testament 
writings,  because  only  in  these  have  we  any 
history  of  Christ.  By  reference,  and  allusion. 
He  is  placed  in  human  histories;  but  we  know 
nothing  from  them  of  Who  He  was,  of  what 
He  taught,  of  what  He  did.  For  all  these  we 
must  come  to  the  New  Testament.  To  deny  its 
accuracy  is  to  be  left  without  any  certain  knowl- 
edge concerning  Him.  All  the  spiritual  and 
moral  triumphs  of  two  thousand  years  have  been 
won  by  belief  in  the  Christ,  as  He  is  presented 
in  these  writings.  This  matter  however  needs 
no  argument  here.  We  have  the  Truth  about 
Christ  in  these  writings  in  germ  and  in  norm. 
It  is  there  in  germ.  That  is  to  say,  that  for  its 
full  understanding,  there  has  been  necessary  the 
progressive  interpretation  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
The  meaning  of  Christ,  of  His  Person,  of  His 
teaching,  of  His  work,  was  far  profounder  and 
more  far  reaching  than  the  men  who  wrote  the 
records  knew.  Indeed  even  to-day,  "  all  the 
treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge  "  hidden  in 
Him  have  not  been  discovered.     There  is  cer- 


I30  THE  WORD  AS  THE 

tainly  yet  much  more  light  and  truth  to  break 
forth  from  "  the  Word  of  God." 

But  it  must  also  be  remembered  that  in  these 
writings  we  have  the  truth  concerning  Christ  in 
norm.  That  is  to  say  that  interpretation  must 
be,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  exposition  of  the 
statements  themselves;  and  not  that  of  addition 
or  denial.  Every  action  of  the  mind  in  its  at- 
tempt to  grasp  the  meaning  of  the  revelation 
must  be  guarded  and  corrected  by  the  revela- 
tion. Directly  an  interpretation  makes  neces- 
sary the  denial  of  a  statement  of  the  writings,  it 
is  thereby  proved  to  be  false.  These  things  be- 
ing granted,  we  say  that  the  wisdom  of  the 
Pastor  and  Teacher  is  the  Word  of  God  in  its 
totality,  as  it  is  contained  in  the  Scriptures  of 
Truth.  It  is  his  business,  in  the  spirit  of  the 
true  Shepherd,  to  understand,  to  explain,  to 
apply,  to  enforce  that  Truth. 

Thus  as  we  conclude  our  consideration  of  the 
primitive  Ideal  we  may  draw  attention  to  the 
fact  that  in  every  exercise  of  the  Ministry  of  the 
Word,  whether  apostolic,  prophetic,  evangelis- 
tic, or  pastoral,  the  fourth  phase  of  the  Word  is 
realized. 

It  is  that  of  the  interpretation  of  the  Word, 
first  in  the  preparation  of  the  Records ;  and  then 


WISDOM  OF  PASTOR  AND  TEACHER  131 

in  their  progressive  unfolding;  and  the  insistent 
urging  of  their  claims ;  so  that  in  and  through 
Christ,  the  Eternal  Word,  life  may  be  brought 
into  harmony  with  the  will  of  God.  For  this, 
as  surely  as  for  all  revelation,  the  Spirit  of  God 
Who  alone  knoweth  the  deep  things  of  God,  is 
needed;  and  He  is  the  ever-willing  Guide  of  all 
who,  called  to  the  Work,  yield  themselves  to 
His  illumination. 

When  that  is  said,  it  must  be  added,  that 
the  Spirit  of  God  in  interpretation,  only  acts 
through  the  painstaking  toil  of  those  who  are 
called  upon  to  interpret  the  Wisdom  of  perfec- 
tion to  those  who  are  to  be  presented  *'  perfect 
in  Christ.**  Ruskin*s  words  should  be  carefully 
considered  by  all  called  to  this  holy  service; 
"  The  Word  of  God  .  .  .  cannot  be  made  a 
present  of  to  anybody  in  morocco  binding."  Or 
again,  what  he  wrote  of  **  man's  best  wisdom," 
is  more  than  ever  true  of  this  Wisdom ;  "  When 
you  come  to  a  good  book  you  must  ask  yourself 
— Am  I  inclined  to  work  as  an  Australian  miner 
would?  Are  my  pickaxes  and  shovels  in  good 
order,  and  am  I  in  good  trim  myself,  my  sleeves 
well  up  to  the  elbow,  and  my  breath  good,  and 
my  temper?  " 

When   the   Pastor  and   Teacher   treats   his 


132  WISDOM  OF  PASTOR  AND  TEACHER 

work  in  that  spirit  of  complete  dedication,  then 
the  Holy  Spirit  of  consecration  will  work  with 
him,  and  in  his  case  it  will  never  be  true  that — 

"  The  hungry  sheep  look  up — and  are  not  fed." ' 


Ill 

The  Modern  Application 


THE  CHANGED  CONDITIONS 

SO  far  our  study  has  been  Biblical  in  a  very 
narrow  sense.  This  use  of  the  word  nar- 
row is  not  intended  as  an  apology  for 
what  we  have  done.  It  is  rather  an  acknowl- 
edgment. The  narrowness  has  been  intentional 
and  vital.  In  this  matter,  as  in  all  others, 
"  Narrow  is  the  gate,  and  straitened  is  the  way, 
that  leadeth  unto  life." 

We  have  looked  at  the  beginnings  of  the 
Christian  ministry  of  the  Word;  the  times  of 
Jesus,  the  times  of  the  Apostles.  We  have 
been  dealing  with  the  primitive  Ideal.  Some- 
times there  is  a  suspicion  of  contempt  in  our 
use  of  the  word  primitive.  There  is  no  justifi- 
cation for  any  such  contempt.  The  word  sim- 
ply means  first  or  earliest  of  its  kind.  Thus  we 
have  been  concerned  with  the  beginnings,  the 
origins.  We  have  been  at  the  sources  of  the 
great  rivers. 

135 


136      THE  CHANGED  CONDITIONS 

George  Borrow  in  his  Wild  Wales  tells  how 
when  he  had  ascended  Plynlimmon  to  see  the 
sources  of  the  rivers  Severn,  Wye,  and  Rheidol, 
he  said  to  his  guide;  "  It  is  not  only  necessary 
for  me  to  see  the  sources  of  the  rivers,  but  to 
drink  of  them,  in  order  that  in  after  times  I  may 
be  able  to  harangue  about  them  with  a  tone 
of  confidence,  and  authority."  This  quaint  con- 
ceit of  the  erratic  genius  has  very  definite  value 
when  applied  to  our  studies.  We  have — as  I 
said — been  at  the  sources  of  the  great  rivers, 
and  I  trust  we  have  been  doing  more  than  look 
at  them;  we  have  been  drinking  of  them. 

The  springs  among  the  glorious  hills  of 
Wales,  however,  are  only  known  in  all  their 
glory,  beauty,  and  strength  in  the  resulting 
rivers;  and  ultimately  in  their  return  to  that 
great  sea,  from  which  they  first  came  through 
the  ministry  of  clouds  and  mists,  all  sun-created. 
So  also  for  us,  the  interpretation  of  these  first 
things  must  finally  be  sought  in  all  the  growth 
and  glory  of  the  resulting  rivers  of  grace  and 
power. 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  therefore  that 
we  should  remember  the  law  of  development. 
We  have  seen  it  already  operating  in  the  earliest 
times,  as  set  forth  in  the  apostolic  references  to 


THE  CHANGED  CONDITIONS      137 

ministry.  Nothing  is  more  patent  in  the  book 
of  the  Acts  than  its  revelation  of  the  operation 
of  this  law  in  the  Christian  enterprise.  In  that 
book  we  clearly  see  that  the  early  Church  was 
entirely  unhampered  by  anything  in  the  nature 
of  stereotyped  policy  or  method.  Where  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  Uberty ;  and  among 
other  things,  that  certainly  means  liberty  to 
adapt  methods  to  changing  conditions. 

It  is  equally  important  however  that  we  re- 
member that  development  is  not  destruction. 
Rightly  apprehended,  evolution  always  means 
involution.  That  is  not  true  evoluiion  which 
destroys  the  original  intention,  or  subverts  its 
order.  It  is  therefore  most  pertinent  that  we 
inquire  how  far  the  primitive  Ideals  are  prac- 
ticable in  modern  conditions. 

In  dealing  with  this  subject  I  propose  to  make 
two  statements,  following  each  by  a  question. 
The  first  of  these  is  that  the  conditions  are 
changed.  The  second  is  that  the  conditions  are 
unchanged.  The  question  in  each  case  may  be 
expressed  in  the  use  of  the  one  word; — How? 
Along  these  lines  of  consideration  and  inquiry, 
we  may  come  to  an  understanding  of  our  own 
times,  and  of  our  own  responsibility. 

In  considering  the  subject  of  changed  con- 


138      THE  CHANGED  CONDITIONS 

ditions  we  are  of  course  confined  to  what  we 
usually  describe  as  civilization.  There  are  still 
regions  where  the  conditions  are  unchanged, 
places  where  civilization  is  no  more  advanced 
than  was  that  in  the  midst  of  which  Christ  and 
His  Apostles  did  their  work;  as  there  are  also 
still  places  in  which  man  is  living  in  savagery 
and  darkness.  Our  concern  is  with  the  condi- 
tions of  modern  civilization,  as  it  has  advanced 
from  that  of  the  times  of  Christ  and  the  first 
preachers  of  the  Word.  We  shall  confine  our 
inquiry  to  three  matters,  those  namely  of  Phi- 
losophy, Science,  and  Government.  It  goes 
without  saying  that  we  can  only  glance  at  these 
matters  in  the  most  general  way. 

The  study  of  Philosophy  may  be  said  to  have 
begun  nearly  six  centuries  before  Christ.  Plato 
declared  that  Philosophy  was  the  child  of  won- 
der, and  that  is  at  once  a  fair  definition,  and  a 
perfect  vindication.  Men  began  to  be  discon- 
tented with  traditional  and  mythical  explana- 
tions of  the  nature  and  origin  of  things,  and 
sought  to  discover  the  truth.  It  is  not  inaccu- 
rate to  say  that  Philosophy  was  from  the  begin- 
ning an  attempt  to  answer  the  very  question 
which  Pilate  asked  of  Jesus,  "  What  is  truth?  '* 
It  is  not  necessary  for  us,  here  and  now,  to  at- 


THE  CHANGED  CONDITIONS      139 

tempt  to  trace  the  history  of  the  efforts  made  to 
answer  that  inquiry,  nor  indeed  would  it  be  pos- 
sible. It  is  a  history  full  of  fascination,  the 
story  of  the  most  wonderful  activity  of  man,  far 
surpassing  all  his  material  inventions,  and  in- 
deed, the  inspiration  of  them  in  their  higher 
achievements. 

Beginning  with  questions  growing  out  of  the 
vision  of  things  that  appear,  that  is  the  physical 
and  manifest  facts,  it  proceeded  to  questions 
concerning  the  inward  mysteries,  the  things 
which  do  not  appear,  save  as  material  things  are 
their  expression.  The  great  period  of  creative 
thinking  ended  with  the  death  of  Aristotle, 
about  three  hundred  years  before  Christ.  This 
was  followed  by  nearly  two  thousand  years  of 
comparative  barrenness.  The  first  eight  cen- 
turies of  this  period  are  usually  described  as  the 
period  of  Greek-Roman  Philosophy.  It  was  far 
more  practical  than  speculative.  The  chief 
movements  were  those  of  Epicureanism,  Stoi- 
cism, and  Neo-Platonism ;  of  which  the  first  two 
were  mainly  ethical,  while  the  last  was  more 
distinctly  religious. 

Before  Christ  came,  four  main  philosophies  of 
life  had  been  produced,  the  Platonic,  the  Aris- 
totelian,   the    Epicurean,    and    the    Stoic.     Of 


I40      THE  CHANGED  CONDITIONS 

these  the  first  resulted  in  an  ascetic  ideal  of 
ethics;  the  second,  subordinating  the  individual, 
aimed  at  social  realization;  the  third  became 
selfish  in  its  pursuit  of  personal  pleasure  to  the 
forgetfulness  of  all  relative  obligations;  while 
the  last  demanded  a  self-control  that  vi^as  in  it- 
self selfish,  and  became  cold  and  callous. 

In  a  thought  atmosphere  largely  influenced 
by  these  ideas,  Jesus  and  His  Apostles  exercised 
their  ministry;  only  it  must  be  remembered  that 
it  was  a  dead  and  barren  season  even  in  these 
matters.  When  Paul  preached  at  Athens,  he 
wsiS  not  speaking  to  living  and  original  thinkers, 
but  to  men  v^ho  v^ere  discussing  v^ords,  and  the 
theories  of  dead  thinkers.  It  v^^as  a  time  when 
the  dead  hand  of  a  great  past  was  resting  upon 
human  thought,  and  Philosophy  was  decadent 
indeed. 

Science  in  our  modern  sense  of  the  word 
was  not  then  born.  It  was  a  department  of 
Philosophy.  Bacon  was  the  father  of  modern 
Science,  by  his  introduction  of  the  inductive 
method,  the  application  of  the  faculty  of  logic 
to  the  consideration  of  facts.  In  the  days  of 
Jesus  and  His  Apostles,  the  Hebrews  believed 
with  all  simplicity  the  revelation  of  their  Scrip- 
tures concerning  the  relation  of  the  world  to 


THE  CHANGED  CONDITIONS      141 

God,  interpreting  that  revelation  with  more  or 
less  of  accuracy,  in  the  light  of  the  thinking  of 
the  age  in  which  they  lived.  That  thinking  was 
largely  nebulous,  and  certainly  far  from  accu- 
rate, as  all  modern  investigation  has  proved. 
The  conception  of  the  universe  was  narrow,  and 
the  understanding  of  the  earth,  by  comparison 
with  that  of  to-day,  childish  and  ignorant. 

As  to  Government,  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that 
Christ  lived  during  the  period  of  the  Pax 
Romana,  the  peace  established  among  nations 
under  the  rule  of  Rome.  In  other  words  it  was 
the  time  when  the  known  world  was  bruised  and 
beaten  into  quietness  and  submission,  under  the 
military  despotism  which  had  usurped  all  gov- 
ernment, and  claimed  the  authority  of  Deity  for 
its  Imperators.  It  was  the  period  when  human- 
ity was  ground  under  the  relentless  and  iron 
heel  of  brute  force.  It  had  no  true  liberty.  In 
its  chains,  it  made  roads,  conducted  commercial 
enterprises,  and  all  unknowingly  to  itself,  pre- 
pared for  the  new  age  which  was  about  to  dawn. 
It  was  nevertheless  a  period  of  utmost  cruelty, 
in  which  the  vast  majority  of  human  beings 
were  in  actual  slavery,  and  those  supposed  to  be 
ruling,  were  in  turn  coerced  by  those  above 
them,  until  the  Emperor  was  reached,  and  he 


142      THE  CHANGED  CONDITIONS 

lived  in  perpetual  terror  of  the  assassin's  dag- 
ger, or  the  intriguer's  poison.  It  was  the  day 
of  triumphant  despotism,  and  of  incipient  revo- 
lution. 

Philosophy  was  in  a  state  of  futile  discussion 
of  the  great  thinking  of  the  past,  without  a  ray 
of  new  light,  or  a  breath  of  true  inspiration. 
Science  lay  inchoate  in  the  womb  of  this  mori- 
bund Philosophy,  satisfied  for  the  moment  with 
inaccurate  guessing  upon  the  basis  of  imperfect 
thinking.  Government  had  wrought  itself  out 
in  utter  godlessness  to  a  cruel  and  destructive 
despotism. 

Under  these  conditions,  there  went  forth  into 
the  world,  the  Apostles,  Prophets,  Evangelists, 
and  Pastors  and  Teachers  of  the  Christian 
Church.  Their  methods  we  have  considered; 
and  the  content  of  their  message ;  the  Apostles 
declared  the  Word,  as  Truth  is  in  Jesus;  the 
Prophets  were  burdened  with  the  Word  of  God ; 
the  Evangelists  heralded  the  great  Evangel;  the 
Pastors  and  Teachers  gathered  the  souls  won 
from  the  prevailing  darkness  and  death,  and 
shepherded  and  instructed  them  in  the  Wisdom 
of  God.  With  what  speedy  and  far  reaching 
victory  they  prosecuted  their  ministry  we  know. 
But  the  conditions  are  marvellously  changed; 


THE  CHANGED  CONDITIONS      143 

more  largely  as  the  result  of  their  work  than 
we  sometimes  recognize.  Let  us  consider  the 
change. 

First  as  to  Philosophy.  Dr.  Elias  Compton, 
Professor  of  Philosophy  in  Wooster  College, 
has  said  that  '*  Apart  from  Christ,  the  western 
world  has  brought  forth  no  other  great  Phi- 
losophy of  life  than  the  four — the  Platonic,  the 
Aristotelian,  the  Epicurean,  and  the  Stoic.  The 
modern  systems  are  variants  of  these,  with 
graftings  from  Christianity."  This  is  a  daring 
statement,  but  there  is  no  doubt  whatever  that 
it  is  literally  true.  Any  careful  student  of  these 
philosophies  of  the  past  will  discover  how  all 
that  was  excellent  in  them  is  included  within 
the  scope  of  Christian  Truth,  purged  from  alloy, 
and  welded  into  the  complete  whole,  of  which 
Christ  was  in  His  personality  the  Incarnation, 
and  in  His  ethic  the  Exponent.  The  long  bar- 
ren period  in  human  Philosophy  continued  from 
the  death  of  Aristotle  in  322  B.  C.  to  the  time  of 
Bacon  and  Descartes  in  the  seventeenth  century 
of  the  Christian  era.  It  was  not  wholly  barren, 
for  Christian  teaching  was  at  work,  and  prepar- 
ing for  the  modern  period  of  activity  which  be- 
gan three  hundred  years  ago.  After  the  strictly 
apostolic  period  came  the  patristic,  with  its  dis- 


144     THE  CHANGED  CONDITIONS 

cussion  of  the  apostolic.  This  was  followed  by 
that  of  the  scholastic,  which  for  a  thousand 
years  was  active. 

Then  came  the  period  when  Bacon  initiated 
the  era  of  Science;  and,  under  Descartes,  Phi- 
losophy was  born  again,  and  entered  upon  its 
second  period  of  activity.  The  march  of  phil- 
osophic thought  during  these  three  hundred 
years  may  be  indicated  by  the  names  of  those 
men  whose  philosophies  have  contributed  some- 
thing to  the  sum  total  of  human  intelligence, 
and  then  passed,  as  others  have  succeeded  them 
with  yet  more  light.  Descartes,  Hobbes,  Spi- 
noza, and  Leibnitz  led  the  way,  as  pure  rational- 
ists, declining  to  believe  anything  but  those 
things  which  they  considered  axiomatic,  that  is, 
which  could  not  be  called  in  question.  Then 
came  the  period  of  the  Empiricists,  Locke, 
Berkeley,  Hume,  declining  to  receive  anything 
as  true  that  did  not  find  ratification  in  known 
experience.  Closely  allied  with  these  was  Kant 
the  critic,  yet  his  influence  created  a  period  in 
itself,  by  his  insistence  on  pure,  or  a  priori 
truths,  and  finally  on  the  corner-stone  of  moral 
reason,  conscience.  Then  followed  the  great 
period  of  German  idealism,  of  which  the  ex- 
ponents were  Fichte,  Schelling,  Schopenhauer, 


THE  CHANGED  CONDITIONS      145 

and  the  last  and  greatest,  Hegel.  Comte  fol- 
lowed Hegel  with  Positivism,  declaring  that 
knowledge  can  only  be  of  facts  and  their  inter- 
relations, thus  swinging  back  towards  the  em- 
piricism of  Hume.  Lotze  took  thinking  back 
into  the  realm  of  idealism,  as  he  declared  that  at 
last  the  universe  must  be  interpreted  in  the 
terms  of  the  spiritual.  Most  recently  we  have 
had  the  Pragmatic  Philosophy  of  James  and 
Dewey,  which  declares  that  the  only  way  to 
know  is  to  test  by  experience. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  since  the  days  of 
Christ  and  His  Apostles,  and,  as  we  have 
claimed,  largely  under  their  influence,  directly 
or  indirectly,  Philosophy  has  gone  far,  but  it 
has  arrived  at  no  final  findings.  It  is  still  in  a 
state  of  flux. 

As  to  Science,  we  need  only  say  that,  during 
the  three  hundred  years  in  which  it  has  really 
been  a  separate  section  of  human  thought,  it  has 
made  marvellous  strides,  and  given  to  men  the 
consciousness  of  a  far  more  wonderful  and  much 
vaster  universe. 

Science  and  Philosophy  for  a  generation  have 
been  enormously  under  the  influence  of  the  evo- 
lutionary theory,  which  has  been  applied  back- 
ward to  the  beginnings  of  things,  and  forward  to 


146      THE  CHANGED  CONDITIONS 

the  inclusion  of  the  ultimate  realization  of  des- 
tiny. That  there  is  an  evolutionary  process  at 
work  in  the  universe  is  universally  admitted. 
That  it  accounts  for  everything  is  not  only  open 
to  grave  doubt,  it  is  explicitly  denied  by  Divine 
revelation.  Nevertheless,  modern  conditions 
are  dominated  to  a  large  extent  by  the  theory. 

When  we  come  to  Government  we  find  an 
equally  remarkable  change  in  conditions.  Not- 
withstanding the  backward  plunge  of  the  last 
generation,  culminating  in  the  tragedy  of  the 
world  war,  to  the  attempt  to  master  the  world 
by  brute  force,  we  realize  how  far  men  have 
travelled  towards  the  realization  of  the  suprem- 
acy of  the  authority  of  ideas,  and  these  of  the 
highest, — Truth,  Justice,  Compassion.  More- 
over, to-day  men  are  realizing  the  importance 
of  freedom  for  all,  rather  than  for  the  few ;  with 
its  inevitable  corollary  of  necessary  bondage  to 
the  principles  of  Truth,  Justice,  and  Compas- 
sion for  all,  in  order  to  the  freedom  of  all.  It  is 
well  to  remind  ourselves  that  these  higher 
things  have  been  quite  as  clearly  manifest  in 
this  world  war  as  have  been  the  lower.  It  is  for 
these  that  millions  went  forth  to  suffer,  and 
multitudes  of  them  to  die.  Here  the  Christian 
influence  has  been  direct  and  immediate.     All 


THE  CHANGED  CONDITIONS      147 

these  higher  conceptions  are  the  direct  outcome 
of  Christian  Truth. 

So  far  as  the  attempt  to  impose  brute  force 
upon  humanity  as  the  basis  of  government  can 
be  defeated  by  force  of  arms,  it  has  been  de- 
feated upon  these  fields  of  blood  and  agony. 
That  which  succeeded  two  millenniums  ago 
under  Rome,  has  been  crushed  in  its  most  re- 
cent adventure.  The  victory  has  been  gained 
as  the  result  of  the  power  of  the  conceptions 
which  came  into  human  thinking  with  the  com- 
ing of  the  Incarnate  Word,  and  were  proclaimed 
by  the  first  ministers  of  that  Word. 

The  victory  is  not  yet  complete.  The  battle 
passes  finally  into  the  realm  of  ideas,  and  their 
application  to  the  actuaUties  of  life.  There,  it 
is  now  proceeding.  Such  is  the  full  meaning  of 
all  our  discussions  in  the  realm  of  reconstruc- 
tion. If  brute  force  be  dispossessed  of  the 
sceptre,  into  whose  hand  is  it  to  pass,  is  the 
question  of  questions.  If  the  disorderly  im- 
pulses of  men  are  not  to  be  controlled  ulti- 
mately by  the  mailed  fist,  how  are  they  to  be 
controlled?  These  are  the  problems  creating 
the  conditions  under  which  the  ministry  of  the 
Word  is  now  to  be  exercised. 

The  preacher  of  to-day  then  has  to  face  an 


148      THE  CHANGED  CONDITIONS 

age  of  greater  enlightenment,  fuller  knowledge, 
and  higher  conceptions  of  life,  all  largely  result- 
ing from  the  preaching  of  the  Word  according 
to  the  primitive  Ideal ;  but  he  has  still  to  face  a 
world  waiting  for  a  true  and  perfect  authority 
in  order  to  the  realization  of  perfect  order. 

We  turn  then  to  our  second  contention,  which 
is  that  the  conditions  are  unchanged.  Here  I 
begin  with  a  general  affirmation.  It  is  Biblical, 
but  it  is  borne  out  by  all  experience,  and  it  is 
that  humanity  is  essentially  one,  and  in  that 
sense  it  is  unchanged.  It  is  one  in  all  the  cen- 
turies; in  all  its  own  divisions  of  race,  caste,  and 
creed;  in  spite  of  its  varied  and  ever-varying 
customs,  habits,  manners.  That  essential  unity 
is  that  of  its  spiritual  nature ;  it  is  not  uniformity 
of  bodily  powers ;  it  is  not  unanimity  of  mental 
conceptions;  it  is  unity  of  spiritual  being. 

Of  that  unity  there  ever  have  been,  and  still 
are,  two  universal  expressions,  those  namely  of 
the  quest  for  truth,  and  the  sense  of  sin.  These 
may  be  described  by  other  phrases,  but  they  are 
found  in  all  human  beings,  call  them  by  what 
names  we  may. 

The  quest  for  truth  is  the  inspiration  of  edu- 
cation in  a  child,  in  an  adult,  in  a  race.  It  is 
simple,  elemental,  fundamental.     In  a  child  it 


THE  CHANGED  CONDITIONS      149 

expresses  itself  in  the  eternal  Why?  How? 
What?  It  is  the  desire  to  know.  Call  it  in- 
quisitiveness,  curiosity,  or  what  you  will,  it  is 
there;  persistently  making  demands,  refusing  to 
be  silenced.  It  is  everlastingly  asking  ques- 
tions, seeking  to  discover  secrets,  knocking  at 
barred  doors.  It  persists  in  adult  life,  and  all 
advance  in  thought  and  power  results  from  the 
insistent  determination  to  find  out  hidden 
things. 

This  ineradicable  passion  of  humanity  ex- 
presses itself  in  revolt,  and  in  investigation.  It 
revolts  against  custom,  and  against  tradition. 
It  breaks  through  the  former,  and  violates  the 
latter,  in  its  determination  to  find  the  reason 
for  each;  and  if  there  be  no  sufficient  reason, 
then  to  find  its  way  out  into  the  larger  spaces, 
the  more  ample  freedom.  It  declines  bondage, 
save  as  bondage  can  be  proven  to  be  the  condi- 
tion of  freedom.  Therefore  it  challenges  all 
sanctions,  demanding  that  they  vindicate  them- 
selves in  the  terms  of  truth,  which  are  the  only 
terms  of  ultimate  necessity.  No  Philosophy, 
no  Science,  no  Religion,  which  refuses  to  yield 
to  the  asking,  the  seeking,  the  knocking  of  the 
human  soul,  is  ultimately  tolerated. 

That  universal  spirit  of  man  will  consider  the 


ISO     THE  CHANGED  CONDITIONS 

suggestion,  examine  the  hypothesis,  attend  to 
the  claim,  until  it  is  halted  and  forbidden  to  in- 
quire. When  that  is  done,  the  soul  refuses  to 
submit,  and  flings  over  the  barrier  as  an  imperti- 
nence and  an  enemy.  All  this  is  the  push  of  the 
human  soul  towards  the  facts,  and  that  ulti- 
mately, if  we  know  how  to  direct  it,  is  the  push 
of  the  human  soul  towards  God.  The  activity  of 
the  soul  is  that  of  investigation,  in  the  conduct 
of  which  it  is  often  apparently  ruthless;  but  the 
soul  is  never  in  such  dire  peril  as  when  the 
process  ceases,  and  it  becomes  content  not  to 
know,  ceases  its  asking,  abandons  its  seeking, 
no  longer  knocks. 

It  may  be  said  that  this  cessation  of  effort 
is  the  normal  condition  of  humanity.  I  can 
only  reply  that  I  do  not  believe  it.  It  may  be, 
and  alas  it  is  so,  that  men  follow  false  lights, 
and  seek  to  discover  by  wrong  and  disastrous 
methods,  but  deep  down  in  the  spiritual  nature 
of  man  this  quest  is  powerful  and  persistent. 

It  must  be  added  however  that  the  quest  for 
truth  is  not  in  itself  the  finding  of  the  Truth. 
Every  discovery  creates  new  problems,  more 
complex  than  those  which  have  been  solved  by 
investigation.  Beyond  the  reach  of  the  finite 
mind  are  vast  spaces,  which  cannot  be  discov- 


THE  CHANGED  CONDITIONS      151 

ered,  and  entrance  to  which  can  only  come  by- 
revelation,  the  yielding  up  of  secrets  as  from 
within.  They  are  only  yielded  in  answer  to 
investigation  along  true  lines;  but  even  then, 
they  must  be  given  from  within,  or  they  will 
never  be  found.  The  more  earnest  and  sincere 
the  search  for  truth  is,  the  more  teachable  be- 
comes the  soul.  When  the  soul  is  not  teach- 
able, it  is  because  it  has  ceased  investigation. 
It  has  stopped  at  some  half-way  house,  which 
perchance  it  may  call  agnosticism.  Content- 
ment with  ignorance,  that  is  with  agnosticism, 
is  the  paralysis  of  the  spirit.  Yet  even  when 
man  has  so  halted,  the  capacity  remains.  Can 
these  bones  live?  may  be  our  question  as  we 
look  at  men;  but  the  answer  of  the  Bible,  and 
the  answer  of  experience  is  that  by  the  breath 
of  the  Lord  they  can.  This  is  one  phase  of  the 
unchanged  and  unchanging  fact  in  human  con- 
ditions. 

To  leave  the  statement  there,  would  be  to 
have  recognized  a  fact,  but  not  to  have  realized 
the  whole  fact.  Side  by  side  with  the  quest  for 
truth,  there  is  the  sense  of  sin.  Again  I  say 
we  may  describe  this  by  any  other  phrase.  The 
fact  remains.  It  is  that  of  humanity's  abiding 
bondage,  its  persistent  paralysis.     M'^n  desiring 


152      THE  CHANGED  CONDITIONS 

truth  yield  to  a  lie;  endeavouring  after  good- 
ness, they  are  unequal  to  realization.  This 
sense  has  many,  and  oftentimes  strange,  meth- 
ods of  expression.  Sometimes  it  expresses  it- 
self by  vehement  denial.  Such  denial  only 
holds  good  v^hen  it  operates  in  the  realm  of 
theory,  and  of  formulated  terminology.  A  man 
will  deny  sin,  but  will  admit  deflection  from 
strict  veracity,  departure  from  the  mastery  of 
the  highest;  or  at  least  he  will  confess  that  he 
has  not  been  able  to  realize  perfectly  his  own 
ideal  of  human  life.  He  may  try  to  console 
himself  by  saying  that  no  one  has  realized  the 
ideal,  but  that  does  not  change  the  true  nature 
of  his  admission.  Sometimes  the  sense  of  sin 
is  expressed  in  attempts  to  excuse  it.  This  may 
be  done  by  laying  the  blame  of  it  on  others — a 
very  old  human  expedient;  or  by  declaring 
it  to  be  a  necessary  part  of  the  process  of  devel- 
opment, a  more  modern  method.  Such  excuses 
do  not  get  rid  of  the  fact.  Far  oftener  than  we 
sometimes  imagine,  the  sense  of  sin  is  expressed 
within  the  soul  in  a  poignant  agony,  born  of  the 
consciousness  of  pollution,  and  of  consequent  in- 
capacity. Whatever  the  expression,  the  fact 
remains  that  Paul  gave  utterance  to  a  great 
elemental  human  consciousness  when  he  wrote, 


THE  CHANGED  CONDITIONS      153 

"  When  I  would  do  good,  evil  is  present  with 
me." 

It  may  be  that  the  fact  is  laughed  away;  it 
may  be  tolerated  as  inevitable;  it  may  be  that 
it  is  the  cause  of  perpetual  agony;  it  is  there,  a 
persistent  consciousness  of  humanity,  in  all 
ages,  under  all  conditions,  in  spite  of  all  human 
attempts  to  deal  with  it. 

What  effect  have  the  changes  we  considered 
had  upon  these  unchanged  things  of  human  ex- 
perience? All  the  increased  light  in  which  we 
live,  philosophical,  scientific,  and  governmental, 
has  but  served  to  reveal  our  ignorance  more 
profoundly. 

Philosophy  has  not  given  us  the  final  secret, 
Science  has  not  solved  the  riddle  of  the  universe. 
Men  are  still  as  far  as  ever,  in  their  unaided 
wisdom,  from  the  knowledge  that  brings  rest 
because  it  illumines  the  mind,  and  gives  rest  in 
the  midst  of  unsolved  problems.  Indeed  it  is 
questionable  whether  there  ever  was  such  un- 
rest in  the  realm  of  human  thought  as  there  is 
to-day.  Men  are  filled  with  a  deadlier  hopeless- 
ness, because  they  are  less  ignorant  than  they 
were,  because  access  of  knowledge  has  only 
meant  the  discovery  of  vaster  mysteries  than 
man  had  ever  imagined. 


154      THE  CHANGED  CONDITIONS 

The  clearer  light  in  human  government,  in- 
dividual, social,  national,  has  but  served  to  make 
man  more  terrifically  conscious  of  the  av^ful 
power  of  sin,  and  the  appalling  corruption  of 
human  life.  The  things  that  are  changed  are 
after  all  the  accidentals  of  life.  The  essentials 
are  unchanged,  and  v^e  are  at  once  reminded 
that  the  primitive  Ideal  of  preaching  W2is  fun- 
damentally that  it  had  to  do  with  these  essential 
things.  It  may  be  said  with  confidence  that  our 
Lord  and  His  Apostles,  Prophets,  Evangelists, 
did  not  profess  to  deal  with  Philosophy,  Science, 
or  Government.  All  were  included  in  their 
message;  all  have  been  affected  by  their  min- 
istry; but  they  dealt  directly,  invariably,  with 
these  very  essential  things  of  the  soul.  They 
went  out  to  answer  its  quest  for  truth  by  the 
revelation  of  the  God  of  Truth ;  and  to  deal  with 
the  sense  of  sin  by  proclaiming  the  Evangel  of 
the  way  of  deliverance.  To  deal  with  essen- 
tials is  to  control  accidentals ;  and  this  was  the 
aim  of  the  primitive  Ideal  in  the  Ministry  of 
the  Word. 

Nothing  is  more  self-evident  in  any  consid- 
eration of  the  history  of  the  Christian  ministry 
of  the  Word  than  the  effect  it  has  produced 
upon  human  conditions.    It  has  flung  light  upon 


THE  CHANGED  CONDITIONS      155 

the  whole  realm  of  philosophical  inquiry,  in- 
troducing new  elements,  which  it  has  been  im- 
possible for  philosophers  to  ignore,  and  which 
have  ensured  an  advance  in  human  intelligence 
which  is  one  of  the  most  wonderful  things  in 
human  history.  It  has  claimed  for  men  that 
freedom  for  investigation  which  has  been  the 
secret  of  all  scientific  activity  and  discovery. 
It  has  touched  the  human  spirit  with  that  sense 
of  its  own  inherent  greatness,  which  has  re- 
sulted in  its  protest  against  every  form  of 
tyranny  which  holds  men  in  bondage. 

Thus  the  ministry  of  the  Word  has  to  be 
exercised  to-day  in  changed  conditions,  which 
are  the  results  of  that  same  ministry,  as  it  began 
with  the  Christ,  was  carried  on  by  the  earliest 
Apostles,  Prophets,  Evangelists,  Pastors  and 
Teachers;  and  has  been  maintained,  with  vary- 
ing force  and  effectiveness,  by  the  long  and 
gracious  succession  of  those  called  to  the  sacred 
work  until  now. 


THE  UNCHANGED  OBLIGATION 

IN  this  study  we  return  to  the  more  strictly 
BibHcal  position,  that  is,  to  the  Christian. 
Recognizing  the  persistence  in  human  ex- 
perience of  the  quest  for  Truth,  and  of  the  sense 
of  sin,  we  face  the  subject  of  obHgation. 

If  these  facts  of  experience  abide,  and  we 
need  not  argue  this  further;  and  if  the  deposit 
of  the  Christian  Church  be  that  Word  of  God 
which  meets  these  facts  of  experience,  and  that 
is  the  assumption  on  which  Christian  Ministry 
is  based;  then  the  fact  of  obHgation  is  patent. 
Our  final  obligation  is  that  of  preaching  the 
Word.  To  the  consideration  of  that  matter  I 
propose  to  lead  up,  by  a  brief  discussion  of  the 
wider  human  obligations  which  make  that 
preaching  necessary. 

Of  these  the  fundamental  is  that  man  be  right 
with  God.  That,  to  the  Christian,  is  the  inclu- 
sive philosophy   of  life.     It  is  based  on   two 

156 


THE  UNCHANGED  OBLIGATION      157 

matters  which  constitute  the  first  and  simplest 
things  of  our  belief;  those  namely  of  the  nature 
of  man,  and  of  the  character  of  God. 

The  Biblical  doctrine  of  man  is  that  he  is  the 
creation  of  God ;  that  his  creation  was  a  separate 
act,  by  which — although  related  to  everything 
beneath  him  in  the  earthly  scale  of  being — he 
was  placed  at  an  infinite  distance  from  these 
lower  forms,  and  given  the  right  and  the  power 
to  reign  over  them  as  the  representative  to 
them  of  the  God  from  Whom  all  had  come ;  that 
the  nature  of  this  act  was  that  of  an  inbreathing 
of  the  breath  of  lives,  whereby  man  became 
offspring  of  God,  in  the  Divine  image  and 
likeness. 

This  conception  of  man  necessarily  involves 
the  conviction  that  in  the  deepest  fact  of  his 
personality,  which  is  spiritual,  he  has  in  his 
very  nature  the  closest  relationship  with  God; 
a  relationship  which  must  be  maintained  if  man 
is  to  realize  his  own  life,  fulfil  his  destiny,  be- 
come experimentally  what  he  is  potentially. 
This  necessity  abides,  in  whatever  condition 
man  may  find  himself.  Nothing  can  possibly 
be  substituted  iru  the  spirit-life  of  man,  for  its 
direct  access  to  God,  and  dealing  with  Him, 
without   disaster   of   the    most   complete    kind 


158     THE  UNCHANGED  OBLIGATION 

eventuating  in  the  experience  of  man.  More- 
over, v^herever  that  disaster  has  eventuated, 
nothing  can  set  it  right  but  the  return  of  man 
to  this  relationship  v^ith  God,  which  he  has  lost. 
All  this,  as  v^e  have  said,  is  not  based  upon  a 
law  imposed  upon  man  apart  from  the  facts  of 
his  nature;  it  is  inherent  in  his  nature.  To  be 
alienated  from  the  life  of  God  is  to  be  destroyed. 

The  Biblical  doctrine  as  to  the  nature  of  God 
is  that  He  is  love.  That  is  the  final  and  inclusive 
truth.  While  that  is  the  final  revelation  of  the 
Bible  concerning  God,  we  need  the  Biblical  in- 
terpretation of  love,  or  else  we  may  wander 
very  wide  of  the  mark  in  our  exposition  of  this 
truth.  God  is  holy  and  just,  as  surely  as  He  is 
merciful  and  full  of  compassion.  All  these 
things  are  so  because  He  is  love.  All  this  being 
so,  the  fact  that  man's  first  obligation  is  that  of 
right  relationship  with  Him  is  still  more  patent. 
To  be  right  with  Him  is  indeed  to  be  conformed 
to  His  likeness,  to  share  His  nature ;  it  is  to  be 
love,  and  such  love  as  is  holy  and  just,  merciful 
and  full  of  compassion.  These  are  the  things 
that  make  personal  life  really  strong  and  beauti- 
ful, and  apart  from  which  human  fellowship  can 
never  be  brought  to  perfection  of  realization. 

In  his  Gifford  Lectures  on  "  The  Varieties  of 


THE  UNCHANGED  OBLIGATION      159 

Religious  Experience,"  Professor  James  gave 
his  final  conclusion  in  these  words: 

**  We  and  God  have  business  v^ith  each 
other;  and  in  opening  ourselves  to  His 
influence  our  deepest  destiny  is  fulfilled." 

That  conclusion  of  the  modern  philosopher  is 
the  starting  point  of  Christian  belief,  the  fact 
revealed  in  the  first  pages  of  the  Bible. 

The  fundamental  obligation  resting  upon  the 
Christian  ministry  of  the  Word  then  is  that  of 
bringing  men  to  the  sense  of  this  fact,  and  to 
willingness  to  yield  to  it.  That  which  became 
almost  the  catch-word  of  a  recent  evangelistic 
movement,  and  which  was  resented  by  some, 
and  sneered  at  by  others,  "  Get  right  with  God," 
was  really  the  brief  statement  of  the  profound- 
est  secret  of  human  life. 

Of  this  matter  there  are  individual  and  social 
applications.  Being  right  with  God,  means  the 
realization  of  all  the  essential  capacities  of  per- 
sonality. For  a  moment  leaving  out  of  view 
the  question  of  sin  altogether,  we  say  that  a 
human  being  living  in  true  relation  with  God 
is  one  in  whom  no  natural  power  is  atrophied, 
no  natural  capacity  abortive,  no  natural  pur- 
pose unfulfilled.     It  is  a  little  difficult  to  think 


i6o     THE  UNCHANGED  OBLIGATION 

of  this  matter  thus  in  the  realm  of  the  ideal, 
because  we  have  no  knowledge  of  what  the 
conditions  would  be  if  there  had  been  no  failure. 
The  only  hint  we  have  of  this  is  the  one  of 
primitive  conditions  in  a  garden.  There  how- 
ever the  man  failed.  The  only  Man  Who  thus 
lived  His»  life  in  right  relationship  from  first  to 
last  was  the  Man  Who  lived  that  life  in  the 
imperfect  conditions,  resulting  from  sin.  Had 
the  first  Adam  lived  spiritually  as  did  the  last 
Adam,  every  power  of  his  own  being  reaHzed 
and  governed  by  the  perfect  will  of  God,  all 
beneath  him  would  have  been  perfected  in  being 
and  use,  through  the  sacred  and  delightful  put- 
ting forth  of  his  energy  in  work  in  fellowship 
with  God.  That  is  the  golden  goal,  the  far-off 
Divine  event,  to  which  the  whole  creation 
moves,  as  it  sweeps  round  the  cycles  of  the  age 
of  God.  To-day  it  is  for  every  man  to  re- 
member that  being  right  with  God  means  that. 
The  last  Adam,  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  realized 
it  to  perfection  in  His  own  personal  life.  There 
were  limitations,  self-emptyings,  imposed  upon 
Him  in  His  humanity,  as  the  result  of  His  living 
in  a  ruined  world;  but,  so  far  as  was  possible 
within  those  conditions.  His  human  life  was  full, 
rich,  perfect. 


THE  UNCHANGED  OBLIGATION      i6i 

In  thinking  of  men  to-day,  it  is  necessary  to 
speak  of  becoming  right  with  God,  before  we  can 
speak  of  being  right  with  Him.  Moreover  there 
are  senses  in  which  that  becoming  will  continue 
through  life's  pilgrimage.  Becoming  right  with 
God  then,  means  the  realization  of  our  capacities 
in  spite  of  sin.  This  for  men  to-day  is  the 
fundamental  personal  obligation ;  but  it  is  also 
the  final  impossibility,  apart  from  the  activity  of 
the  Divine  Grace,  whereby  a  man  is  born  again, 
and  thus  enabled  to  come  at  last  to  the  realiza- 
tion of  his  personality,  in  right  relationship  with 
God. 

In  all  such  consideration,  God's  racial  purpose 
must  not  be  lost  sight  of.  In  the  Divine  pur- 
pose, humanity  is  not  an  aggregate  of  persons, 
living  separate  and  independent  lives.  It  is  a 
family,  a  fellowship,  through  which  He  will 
accomplish  ends,  which  we  may  not  yet  see  or. 
know,  but  which  are  certainly  far  wider  than 
this  earth,  and  more  extensive  than  that  of 
which  we  speak  as  time.  The  fundamental 
obligation  upon  which  the  minister  of  the  Word 
has  to  insist,  and  to  the  realization  of  which  he 
has  to  point  the  way,  includes  the  regulation  of 
human  life  in  its  inter-relationships.  This  be- 
gins with  the  family  circle,  and  stretches  out 


i62     THE  UNCHANGED  OBLIGATION 

through  all  the  widening  circles,  until  the  whole 
race  is  included  in  its  influence.  This  is  at  once 
the  first  ideal  to  be  remembered,  and  the  final 
result  to  be  achieved. 

This  brings  us  to  the  second  phase  of  obli- 
gation, which  we  may  describe  as  the  proces- 
sionary,  that  is  the  obligation  which  is  con- 
cerned with  the  processes  by  which  the  Divine 
purpose  of  bringing  humanity  into  right  rela- 
tionship with  Himself  may  be  accomplished. 

Inclusively  we  may  say  that  it  is,  for  this 
age,  that  of  creating  and  conditioning  a  society, 
in  which  that  rightness  of  relationship  is  real- 
ized and  revealed.  It  will  at  once  be  seen  that 
this  is  an  exact  description  of  the  very  purpose 
for  which  the  Church  of  God  exists  in  this 
world.  The  Church  is  the  House  of  God,  the 
Church  of  the  living  God,  and  as  such,  she  is  the 
pillar  and  ground  of  the  Truth;  that  is,  she  is 
the  instrument  through  which  the  light  of  truth 
shines  upon  the  world.  She  is  to  be  the  ex- 
ample, and  thus  the  witness,  to  the  possibility 
of  failing  men  being  made  right  with  God,  and 
so  of  finding  their  way  into  right  relationship 
among  themselves. 

Here  also,  necessarily,  the  obligation  begins 
with   the   individual,   and   proceeds   to   the   so- 


THE  UNCHANGED  OBLIGATION     163 

ciety.  All  the  members  of  the  society  must  be 
those  who  know  God,  and  so  are  at  perfect  rest. 
They  must  be  those  who  are  in  fellowship  with 
God,  and  so  are  at  ceaseless  work.  Therefore 
those  who  constitute  the  membership  of  the 
Society,  the  Church,  the  holy  Nation,  must  be 
those  who  are  redeemed  from  the  pollution  and 
paralysis  of  sin;  and  who  share  the  life  of  God, 
through  Him  Who  came  to  give  men  life,  and 
that  more  abundantly. 

Again,  the  mere  gathering  together  of  indi- 
viduals, by  the  multiplying  of  the  number  of 
such,  is  not  enough.  These  must  be  trained 
into  all  the  experience  of  such  submission  to  the 
one  Lord,  as  shall  result  in  the  manifestation  of 
the  glorious  liberty  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

This  whole  matter  of  the  obligation  as  to 
the  process  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  and 
cannot  be  overstated.  The  principle  involved 
is  that  the  Word  of  God  can  only  be  appre- 
hended of  men  as  it  is  incarnate.  That  is  the 
reason  of  the  Incarnation.  It  was  only  when 
the  Word  became  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  men, 
that  they  beheld  His  glory,  or  came  to  a  true 
apprehension  of  its  message.  It  was  when  the 
Lord  opened  the  understanding  of  His  disciples 
after  Pentecost,  by  showing  the  relation  of  their 


i64     THE  UNCHANGED  OBLIGATION 

sacred  Writings  to  Himself,  that  they  under- 
stood the  Scriptures.  The  value  of  the  New 
Testament  is  that  it  creates  a  consciousness  of 
Christ,  which,  flashing  back  upon  the  writings, 
illuminates  them.  The  most  powerful  and  pre- 
vailing exposition  of  these  writings  is  never 
that  of  written  or  spoken  interpretation.  It  is 
that  of  living  witness.  In  proportion  as  the 
Christ  of  the  New  Testament  is  formed  in  in- 
dividual souls,  and  manifested  through  the  com- 
munity sharing  His  life,  is  He  able  to  carry  for- 
ward the  purpose  of  His  heart,  and  lead  other 
men  into  right  relationship  with  God,  and  so  to 
exhibit  in  human  history  the  real  glory  of  the 
Divine  ideal  for  humanity.  The  strength  of  the 
Divine  Society  is  the  strength  of  the  Divine 
Witness;  and  the  strength  of  the  Divine  Wit- 
ness is  the  process  of  the  Divine  Purpose  and 
Work. 

If  the  first  obligation  be  that  man  be  right 
with  God;  and  the  obligation  as  to  processes 
be  that  a  Society  exist  in  which  that  Tightness 
is  realized  and  revealed;  it  follows  that  the 
ultimate  obligation  is  concerned  with  the  whole 
world.  It  may  be  expressed  in  the  words  of 
our  Lord  Himself  in  His  intercessory  prayer, 
when  praying  for  the  unity  of  His  Church  He 


THE  UNCHANGED  OBLIGATION      165 

said,  **  That  the  world  may  believe,"  and  "  that 
the  world  may  know  "  (John  xvii.  21,  23). 

This  is  the  unchanging  purpose  of  God,  and 
it  is  a  purpose  which  means  the  perfect  meet- 
ing of  the  world's  need,  in  and  through  man. 
The  word  which  our  Lord  employed  in  each 
case  was  the  inclusive  word  kosnibs,  showing 
that  while  His  work  was  preeminently  on 
behalf  of  man,  it  would  operate  through  man 
on  behalf  of  the  whole  creation.  That  phrase 
''  the  whole  creation  "  is  Paul's  equivalent  for 
kds7?tos  in  the  Roman  letter,  when  he  writes  of 
its  groaning  and  waiting  for  the  revealing  of  the 
sons  of  God.  It  has  been  for  the  meeting  of 
this  widest  need  that  God  has  ever  acted  in  His 
Self-revelation,  whether  in  the  divers  portions 
spoken  in  times  past  through  the  prophets,  or 
through  the  final  speech  through  the  Son  in 
these  days.  Only  as  the  world  is  kept  in  view, 
and  God's  purpose  is  kept  in  mind,  will  the 
Word  of  God  in  any  form  remain  quick  and 
powerful.  In  this  matter,  no  man  and  no  com- 
munity can  long  eat  their  morsel  alone. 

If  we  consider  this  world  purpose  a  little 
more  fully  as  expressed  in  these  simple  and  yet 
sublime  words  of  our  Lord,  we  shall  discover 
how  it  exactly  meets  human  need  as  we  dis- 


i66     THE  UNCHANGED  OBLIGATION 

covered  it  when  dealing  with  the  unchanged 
conditions.  Then  we  said  that  there  persists  in 
human  history  and  experience  a  twofold  spir- 
itual fact,  which  we  described  as,  The  Quest 
for  Truth,  and  The  Sense  of  Sin.  Our  Lord's 
words  indicate  the  Divine  purpose  in  each  of 
these,  but  in  the  other  order.  The  sense  of  sin 
is  dealt  with  through  belief;  the  quest  for  Truth 
is  answered  through  knowledge.  This  is  the 
necessary  order  in  human  experience,  for  man 
can  only  come  into  knowledge  in  its  fulness,  as 
sin  is  put  away. 

The  sense  of  sin  is,  as  we  have  seen,  a  sense 
of  pollution  and  of  paralysis.  The  word  of  the 
Gospel  is  a  word  that  promises  forgiveness  and 
life.  That  in  each  case  is  a  promise  that  is  only 
possible  of  belief  if  it  comes  from  God.  When 
the  critics  of  our  Lord  said,  ''  No  man  can  for- 
give sins  save  God  only,"  they  said  what  was 
perfectly  true.  When  our  Lord  claimed  that 
the  gift  of  life  must  be  a  gift  of  God,  He  claimed 
what  none  can  dispute.  The  question  then  for 
man  is  as  to  whether  He  Who  brought  this  mes- 
sage was  sent  by  God.  To  bring  the  world  to 
that  belief  is  the  ultimate  purpose  of  God;  for 
by  that  faith  men  may  have  the  sense  of  for- 
giveness, and  the  experience  of  life,  full  and 


THE  UNCHANGED  OBLIGATION      167 

forceful.  The  only  sin  for  which  there  is  no 
forgiveness,  and  which  is  an  age-abiding  sin,  is 
that  of  refusing  to  believe  on  Him  Whom  the 
Father  hath  sent.  To  this  His  words  bear  wit- 
ness, "  Of  sin,  because  they  believe  not  on  Me." 
The  quest  for  Truth  is  a  demand  for  knowl- 
edge. It  is  a  revolt  against  all  authority  and 
limitation  which  are  not  final  and  inevitable. 
It  is,  as  we  said,  in  the  last  analysis,  the  push  of 
the  soul  through  towards  God.  The  claim  of 
Jesus  to  be  the  Truth  was  His  claim  that  in 
Him  man  may  find  God.  This  claim  we  know 
He  constantly  made,  and  with  such  emphasis 
and  clarity  that  there  can  be  no  mistaking  of 
His  meaning.  The  question  for  men  then  is 
as  to  whether  He  Who  made  this  claim  was 
really  from  God.  To  bring  the  world  to  that 
knowledge  is  the  ultimate  purpose  of  God;  for 
in  that  knowledge  men  will  find  the  answer  to 
all  their  questions  about  the  meaning  of  life,  its 
origin,  its  development,  its  destiny.  To  know 
God  as  He  is  revealed  in  His  Son  is  to  have 
found  the  secret  of  all  knowledge.  The  growth 
into  it  may  be  gradual,  as  it  surely  is,  but  there 
are  no  locked  doors,  no  barred  gates.  From 
that  knowledge,  and  in  its  light,  man  may  go 
forward    to   perfected    intellectual    attainment. 


i68     THE  UNCHANGED  OBLIGATION 

To  this  also  the  words  of  our  Lord  bear  wit- 
ness; "This  is  life  eternal,  that  they  should 
know  Thee,  the  only  true  God,  and  Him  Whom 
Thou  didst  send,  even  Jesus  Christ "  (John 
xvii.  3). 

Involved  in  all  these  matters  is  the  fact  that 
the  immediate  obligation  of  the  Church  is  that 
the  Word  should  be  preached  to  these  ends;  in 
order  that  man  may  be  set  right  with  God;  in 
order  that  the  Society  may  be  created  through 
which  the  nature  of  this  rightness  may  be  re- 
vealed; and  in  order  that  the  world  may  be- 
lieve and  know. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  for  me  to  enter  into 
any  lengthy  argument  in  this  series  of  studies 
as  to  the  importance  of  preaching  in  itself,  as  a 
method  of  making  the  Word  known.  That  has 
not  been  our  theme  at  all.  It  has  been  assumed 
from  first  to  last.  Nevertheless  it  is  so  vital  a 
matter  that  we  may  at  least  tarry  with  it  for  a 
brief  space. 

The  whole  subject  is  inclusively,  and  one  may 
almost  say  exhaustively,  dealt  with  in  a  passage 
in  Paul's  letter  to  the  Romans  (x.  13-15),  in 
which  man's  dependence  on  preaching  is  stated 
absolutely;  the  method  and  value  are  revealed; 
and  the  one  essential  to  success  in  preaching  is 


THE  UNCHANGED  OBLIGATION      169 

declared.  So  important  is  the  passage  that  we 
will  quote  the  whole  of  it: 

"  Whosoever  shall  call  upon  the  name  of 
the  Lord  shall  be  saved.  How  then  shall 
they  call  on  Him  in  Whom  they  have  not 
believed?  And  how  shall  they  believe  in 
Him  Whom  they  have  not  heard?  And 
how  shall  they  hear  without  a  preacher? 
And  how  shall  they  preach  except  they  be 
sent?" 

In  the  opening  affirmation  the  first  necessity 
of  man  is  suggested,  and  the  way  in  which  it 
is  met  is  declared.  The  necessity  is  that  of 
salvation.  This  is  the  dealing  with  the  sense 
of  sin  and  the  quest  for  truth,  which  takes 
man  through  forgiveness  and  life  into  knowl- 
edge. The  declaration  is  that  men  receive  that 
salvation  when  they  call  upon  the  name  of  the 
Lord. 

This  affirmation  is  followed  by  four  ques- 
tions in  sequence.  The  first  shows  that  men 
will  only  call  on  the  Lord  as  they  believe  in 
Him.  Of  course  that  qualifies  the  idea  of  call- 
ing on  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  shows  that 
it  is  much  more  than  an  intellectual,  or  formal 
thing.  It  is  that  calling  of  Jesus  Lord,  which 
involves  the  surrender  of  the  soul  to  Him,  and 


I70     THE  UNCHANGED  OBLIGATION 

which,  in  his  Corinthian  letter,  Paul  said  no 
man  could  do  but  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  next  question  shows  that  men  cannot 
believe  in  some  one  whom,  or  of  whom,  they 
have  not  heard.  It  is  interesting  to  observe  in 
passing  that  the  Revisers,  both  English  and 
American,  have  rendered  the  question :  "  How 
shall  they  believe  in  Him  Whom  they  have  not 
heard?  "  instead  of  "  How  shall  they  believe  in 
Him  of  Whom  they  have  not  heard?"  The 
omission  of  the  word  "  of  "  gives  the  idea  a  new 
force,  suggesting  that  it  is  necessary  to  hear 
Him,  and  thus  giving  a  special  character  to  the 
work  of  preaching.  In  it,  men  must  not  only 
hear  about  the  Lord,  they  must  hear  Him. 
Perhaps  it  is  not  safe  to  place  too  much 
emphasis  on  this  fact,  but  to  me  it  does  suggest 
that  preaching  is  only  truly  powerful  when  in 
it  the  Lord  Himself  is  made  real  to  the  hearer, 
so  that  the  Word  is  known  as  His  own. 

Then  comes  the  question  which  reveals  the 
supreme  importance  of  preaching,  as  it  makes 
hearing  the  Lord  dependent  upon  a  preacher. 
The  word  for  preacher  and  preaching  here  is 
the  word  kerussb,  which  signifies  the  work  of 
the  herald,  the  one  who  delivers  the  King's  mes- 
sage with  authority. 


THE  UNCHANGED  OBLIGATION     171 

The  final  question  recognizing  the  impoi*- 
tance  of  preaching  reveals  the  secret  of  success 
therein.  It  is  that  the  preacher  should  be  sent. 
The  Christian  preacher  is  called  and  sent  by 
the  fact  that  he  is  equipped  for  his  work  by 
his  gift,  of  which  we  shall  have  more  to  say 
in  our  next  study. 

The  value  of  this  passage  for  us  now  is  its 
revelation  of  the  importance  of  preaching,  and 
the  light  it  throws  on  the  immediate  obligation 
of  those  in  the  Ministry  of  the  Word. 

The  Word  is  to  be  proclaimed  apostolically, 
as  to  its  system,  and  balance  and  proportion; 
evangelistically,  as  tc  its  glorious  news,  and 
the  claim  it  makes  upon  men  concerning  their 
salvation;  prophetically,  as  to  its  bearing  upon 
all  human  affairs;  and  pastorally,  as  to  its  sus- 
tenance of  life,  and  the  consequent  growth  of 
the  soul  into  Him  Who  is  the  Head,  and  so 
into  its  true  place  in  the  Church. 

No  change  in  the  accidental  conditions  of 
human  thought  and  circumstances  has  changed 
the  essential  facts  of  human  nature.  There- 
fore the  obligation  to  preach  the  Word  abides, 
and  is  as  urgent  as  it  ever  was.  To  make  men 
right  with  God;  to  edify  the  Christian  Society; 
to  reach  the  world  with  the  Evangel,  and  to 


172     THE  UNCHANGED  OBLIGATION 

make  it  know  the  truth ;  these  are  the  most  im- 
portant things  of  human  Hfe;  and  to  do  this 
work  men  are  still  given  gifts  by  the  Head  of 
the  Church,  which  it  is  at  their  peril  they  fail  to 
employ. 

The  value  of  the  written  Word  for  this  work 
is  patent;  as  also  is  its  perfect  suitability.  There 
are  times  when  we  are  tempted  to  wish  that 
we  found  more  explicit  instructions  in  the 
presence  of  problems;  but  a  more  careful  con- 
sideration will  show  how  much  better  is  the 
Divine  way  than  the  human.  If  in  the  Sacred 
Writings  we  had  merely  detailed  applications  of 
the  Word  of  God  to  any  one  age,  they  would 
inevitably  become  obsolete  with  the  passing  of 
that  age.  Instead  we  have  the  statement  of 
eternal  truths  and  principles  with  illustrative 
applications.  These  things  abide,  and  have  new 
application  in  every  age.  Thus  to  quote  the 
words  of  our  Lord ;  "  Every  scribe  who  hath 
been  made  a  disciple  to  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven 
is  like  unto  a  man  that  is  a  householder,  which 
bringeth  forth  out  of  his  treasure  things  new 
and  old."  To  do  this  is  the  abiding  obligation 
of  every  man  called  to  the  Ministry  of  the 
Word. 

The  realization  of  this  obligation  must  surely 


THE  UNCHANGED  OBLIGATION      173 

settle  very  many  questions  which  inevitably 
arise  in  the  exercise  of  that  sacred  ministry. 
All  we  have  said  about  the  changed  conditions 
in  the  midst  of  which  we  have  to  preach  the 
Word  to-day,  recognizes  that  we  do  so  in  the 
midst  of  constantly  new  problems,  and  ever 
varying  situations. 

The  new  vigour  of  philosophic  inquiry  is 
creating  new  attitudes  of  mind,  and  giving  rise 
to  new  problems  in  every  department  of  human 
knowledge.  These  are  not  merely  interesting, 
they  are  of  vital  importance  to  human  life. 
What  then  is  the  attitude  of  the  preacher  of  the 
Word  to  be  towards  them?  He  must  be  con- 
scious of  them.  They  will  confront  him  in  all 
his  reading,  both  the  more  serious,  and  the 
ephemeral.  He  knows  that  his  people  are  read- 
ing the  same  things,  and  are  being  influenced 
by  them.  Is  he  to  refuse  to  consider  them? 
By  no  means.  His  first  duty  is  to  do  every- 
thing that  lies  in  his  power  to  make  himself 
familiar  with  them.  In  this  sense  he  must  keep 
abreast  of  his  times.  But  he  will  not  change  his 
message  in  order  to  bring  it  into  conformity 
with  these  changing  and  fluctuating  currents  of 
human  opinion.  He  will  however  give  himself 
with  new  diligence  to  the  study  of  his  message. 


174     THE  UNCHANGED  OBLIGATION 

in  order  that  he  may  apprehend  and  proclaim 
its  bearing  upon  these  movements  of  the  human 
mind. 

In  this  process  he  need  have  no  fear.  The 
Word  of  God  liveth  and  abideth  for  ever.  It 
deals,  not  with  the  accidentals  of  thought,  but 
with  Truth  essentially,  and  therefore  has  per- 
sistent and  corrective  bearing  upon  all  human 
thought.  The  obligation  of  the  minister  of  the 
Word  is  that  of  discovering  and  proclaiming 
that  bearing.  In  the  process  he  may  have  to 
change  his  mind,  but  never  his  message.  That 
is  to  say  he  may  discover  that  his  apprehension 
of  the  message  has  been  faulty.  Then  he  must 
honestly  and  fearlessly  say  so.  Consistency 
with  yesterday's  honest  conviction  may  be  of 
the  essence  of  dishonesty.  Loyalty  to  the  au- 
thority of  the  Word  in  itself  is  of  the  essence  of 
the  obligation  resting  upon  its  minister. 

So  also  the  very  restlessness  of  men  in  all 
matters  social  and  economic  is  creating  new 
situations.  These  also  are  of  supreme  impor- 
tance to  human  well-being.  Of  these  the 
preacher  must,  and  ought,  to  be  conscious.  To 
live  in  ignorance  of  them  is  to  be  unable  to  bring 
to  bear  upon  them  the  witness  of  the  Word  of 
God.     That  is  his  work.     He  is  not  called  upon 


THE  UNCHANGED  OBLIGATION      175 

to  join  committees  to  discuss  these  situations, 
in  order  to  help  men  to  discover  some  solution 
of  their  own.  He  must  be  able  to  bring  to  bear 
upon  their  discussions  the  searchlight  of  the 
Divine  Law,  and  the  guidance  of  the  Divine 
Will.     That  is  his  one  obligation. 

Again  we  say  he  need  have  no  fear.  No  sit- 
uation has  arisen  or  can  arise  in  human  life,  in- 
dividual, social,  or  national,  which  is  outside 
the  Divine  interest;  and  within  the  compass  of 
the  Truth  as  it  is  revealed  in  Christ,  there  is 
explanation  and  direction,  accepting  and  follow- 
ing which,  men  will  be  led  into  the  highest  con- 
ditions of  life.  The  obligation  which  abides  is 
a  grave  one,  but  it  is  most  gracious,  for  it  has 
to  do  with  the  things  for  which  the  world  is 
waiting,  and  without  which  it  can  find  neither 
righteousness,  peace,  nor  joy. 


THE  PREPARATION  OF  THE  MINISTRY 

WHEN  dealing  with  the  fundamental 
conception  of  the  ministry,  and  again 
in  our  last  study,  I  referred  to  the 
fact  that  in  each  case  the  gift  bestowed  by  the 
Head  of  the  Church  is  potentially  the  necessary 
qualification  for  the  doing  of  the  work.  This 
we  must  now  consider  a  little  more  particularly, 
because  it  is  vital  in  the  consideration  of  the 
subject  of  the  training  of  ministers. 

Training  is  for  those  who  have  received  gifts. 
Apart  from  the  gift,  training  can  never  prepare 
men  for  the  Ministry  of  the  Word.  I  often 
wish  that  our  Protestant  Churches,  especially 
the  Free  Churches,  had  not  lost  the  word  Voca- 
tio7t,  concerning  the  ministry;  and  that,  in  the 
sense  in  which  it  is  employed  in  the  Roman 
Church.  Men  cannot  choose  to  become  minis- 
ters of  the  Word.  This  calling  is  differentiated 
from  all  others,  in  this  very  fact.     While,  as  we 

shall  see  presently,  natural  fitness  is  important, 

176 


PREPARATION  OF  THE  MINISTRY     177 

it  is  not  enough.  While  a  man  can,  upon  the 
ground  of  natural  ability,  decide  whether  he 
will  be  doctor,  lawyer,  or  commercial  man,  he 
cannot  so  choose  to  become  a  minister.  The 
words  of  our  Lord  are  of  abiding  application, 
and  must  be  taken  in  their  fullest  sense ;  "  Ye 
have  not  chosen  Me,  but  I  have  chosen  yDu." 
So  strongly  do  I  feel  upon  this  matter,  that  I 
never  ask  men  to  enter  the  Christian  ministry. 
I  have  had  occasion,  in  the  exercise  of  the  pas- 
toral office,  to  ask  some  man  who  seemed  to  me 
to  have  special  fitness  for  the  work  of  the  min- 
istry, whether  he  had  carefully  considered  what 
was  his  Lord's  will  for  him  in  the  matter.  This, 
however,  is  quite  a  different  thing  from  a  gen- 
eral or  particular  appeal,  which  seems  to  sug- 
gest that  men  can  choose  the  Ministry  of  the 
Word  as  a  calling.  The  only  men  who  can 
really  enter  this  Ministry  are  those  whom  the 
Lord  chooses,  calls,  and  equips,  by  the  bestow- 
ment  of  gifts  according  to  the  wisdom  of  His 
will. 

In  considering  this  initial  subject  of  gifts, 
there  are  two  elements  which  must  be  recog- 
nized; and  which  we  may  describe  as  the  super- 
natural and  the  natural.  I  confess  this  is  a  dis- 
tinction which  ultimately  I  dislike,  but  it  has  its 


178     PREPARATION  OF  THE  MINISTRY 

use,  and  we  will  employ  the  terms  in  the  gener- 
ally accepted  sense. 

For  the  work  of  the  Ministry  of  the  Word  the 
gift  which  we  thus  describe  as  supernatural  is 
supreme.  This  is  the  gift  which  is  definitely 
bestowed  upon  a  man  by  the  Head  of  the 
Church  through  the  Spirit;  and  which  gives 
him  the  equipment  he  needs  for  the  exercise  of 
that  ministry  as  an  Apostle,  a  Prophet,  an 
Evangelist,  or  a  Pastor  and  Teacher. 

In  the  Ephesian  passage  to  which  we  have 
given  attention  in  considering  the  different 
phases  of  the  Ministry  of  the  Word,  we  have 
the  central  declaration  concerning  this  matter. 
From  the  passage  let  us  take  an  extract,  en- 
abling us  to  see  that  declaration  in  all  its  sim- 
pHcity ; 

"  When  He  ascended  on  high,  He  led  cap- 
tivity captive,  and  gave  gifts  unto  men.  .  .  . 
And  He  gave  some,  apostles;  and  some, 
prophets;  and  some,  evangelists;  and  some, 
pastors  and  teachers  "  (Eph.  iv.  8  and  11). 

That  is  the  true  sequence  so  far  as  this  sub- 
ject of  gifts  is  concerned.  In  this  statement 
the  twice  repeated  verb  "  gave  **  (diddmi\  and 
the  noun  "  gifts  "  {ddma\  are  related,  and  refer 
to  gifts  in  the  simplest  way,  as  a  bestowment. 


/ 


PREPARATION  OF  THE  MINISTRY     179 

the  emphasis  being  upon  the  freedom  of  the 
gift.  The  word  "gift"  (dbr^a)  in  a  previous 
verse,  "  the  measure  of  the  gift  of  Christ " 
(ver.  7)  also  means  a  gratuity,  but  in  use  carries 
the  thought  of  a  sacrifice  or  offering.  Nov^^  the 
whole  context  shows  that  these  gifts  for  the  ex- 
ercise of  the  Ministry  of  the  Word  are  freely 
bestowed  by  the  Head  of  the  Church,  in  virtue 
of  His  victorious  ascension,  to  the  place  of  full 
and  final  authority;  an  ascension  made  possible 
by  His  descent  into  the  lower  parts  of  the  earth, 
and  all  He  accomplished  there.  Tht  gifts  then 
are  bestowed  by  infinite  grace,  and  absolute  au- 
thority. 

There  is,  however,  another  New  Testament 
word  which  we  must  consider  if  we  are  to  ap- 
prehend the  full  value  of  these  gifts.  It  is  the 
word  charisma.  This  is  the  word  employed  by 
Paul  in  his  Corinthian  letter  when  deahng  with 
the  same  subject.  He  also  used  it  in  his  Roman 
letter,  and  in  writing  to  Timothy  about  the  work 
of  the  ministry.  Peter  also  used  it  once  (1  Pet. 
iv.  10).  This  is  the  only  occurrence  of  the  word 
in  the  New  Testament  outside  the  writings  of 
Paul.  Thayer  clearly  sets  forth  what  he  calls 
"  the  technical  Pauline  sense  "  of  the  term  in 
these  words ; 


i8o    PREPARATION  OF  THE  MINISTRY 

"  Charismata  (gifts)  denote  extraordinary 
powers,  distinguishing  certain  Christians, 
and  enabling  them  to  serve  the  Church  of 
Christ,  the  reception  of  which  is  due  to  the 
power  of  Divine  Grace  operating  in  their 
souls  by  the  Holy  Spirit." 

That  definition  of  course  applies  to  other  gifts 
than  those  bestowed  for  the  ministry  of  the 
Word,  but  it  certainly  includes  them.  Thus  a 
gift  is  a  bestowment  of  grace,  which  is  an  en- 
dowment, a  qualification,  a  faculty.  In  the  pos- 
session of  such  a  gift  a  man  is  potentially  pre- 
pared for  the  exercise  of  a  function.  Apart  from 
its  possession  he  cannot  do  the  work  for  which 
it  is  the  equipment. 

The  second  element  is  that  which  we  may 
describe  as  natural,  although  natural  gifts  are 
also  supernatural  in  that  they  are  Divinely  im- 
planted. Whatever  special  natural  capacity  or 
aptitude  a  man  has,  he  possesses  because  God 
the  Father  of  spirits  gave  it  to  him  in  his  crea- 
tion. These  natural  gifts  always  constitute  the 
instruments  of  supernatural  gifts  in  the  econ- 
omy of  God. 

The  gift  of  the  Apostle  is  bestowed  upon  men 
of  very  varied  mental  powers,  but  upon  men 
who  are  supremely  men  of  thought,  capable  of 


PREPARATION  OF  THE  MINISTRY     i8i 

analytic,  synthetic  approach  to  truth.  Hence 
the  abiding  value  of  the  apostolic  gift  is  that 
Truth  ever  needs  setting  forth  in  proper  bal- 
ance and  proportion;  in  every  new  age  of  hu- 
man thinking,  it  demands  the  true  terms  of  ex- 
pression in  order  to  accurate  apprehension. 
Here  is  the  work  of  Translators  and  Theolo- 
gians. 

The  gift  of  the  Prophet  is  bestowed  upon 
men  of  naturally  statesmanlike  outlook,  and  of 
clear  powers  of  speech.  Thus  the  constant 
value  of  the  prophetic  gift  is  that  Truth  ever 
demands  application  to  all  the  new  circum- 
stances of  human  life  as  they  arise. 

The  gift  of  the  Evangelist  is  bestowed  upon 
men  who  naturally  are  possessed  of  the  power 
of  speech  and  of  persuasion.  The  persistent 
value  of  the  evangelistic  gift  is  that  under  all 
circumstances,  and  to  all  classes  of  men,  the  call 
of  the  Gospel  needs  to  have  utterance. 

The  gift  of  the  Pastor  and  Teacher  is  be- 
stowed upon  men  w  o  supremely  have  aptitude 
for  teaching,  and  arc  full  of  patience.  The  per- 
petual value  of  the  pastoral  and  didactic  gift  is 
that  as  men  and  women  are  brought  into  the 
Christian  experience,  they  need  training  and 
guidance. 


i82     PREPARATION  OF  THE  MINISTRY 

All  this  I  hold  most  strongly.  A  great  deal 
that  has  been  said  about  a  gift  bestowed  making 
a  man  a  preacher  who  had  no  natural  ability,  is 
sheer  nonsense.  God's  natural  and  spiritual 
worlds  are  not  so  out  of  joint.  Nevertheless 
the  final  truth  is  that  no  natural  ability  qualifies 
a  man  for  the  work  of  the  Ministry  of  the  Word, 
apart  from  the  bestowment  of  a  gift  of  grace 
which  is  a  spiritual  qualification.  There  can  be 
no  training  of  the  minister  until  that  gift  is 
received. 

It  may  be  well  at  once  to  say  that  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  reception  of  a  gift,  that  is  of  a 
call  to  the  ministry,  may  come  in  many  ways, 
and  may  vary  in  the  most  divers  manners.  To 
one  man  it  comes  suddenly,  like  the  flash  of  the 
lightning,  the  peal  of  a  trumpet.  To  others  it 
comes  slowly,  like  the  dawn  creeping  over  the 
hills,  the  whisper  of  a  distant  voice.  •  To  some 
it  comes  as  a  great  joy,  filling  the  soul  with 
hope  and  ecstasy.  To  others  it  comes  through 
travail,  and  is  almost  a  sorrow  and  a  pain.  One 
is  at  once  filled  with  the  sense  of  confidence  and 
strength;  another  trembles  and  shrinks,  and  is 
conscious  only  of  appalling  weakness. 

These  different  experiences  are  natural,  and 
are  largely  due  to  temperament.     The  spiritual 


PREPARATION  OF  THE  MINISTRY     183 

fact  is  the  certainty,  from  which  no  man  can 
escape  who  has  received  the  gift,  and  felt  its 
sacred  heat.  Until  men  have  the  most  pro- 
found conviction  and  certainty  in  this  matter, 
no  training  of  them  should  be  attempted.  It 
is  here  that  the  importance  and  value  of  the 
Church's  recognition  is  first  manifested.  I  do 
not  think  any  Theological  College  or  Seminary 
ought  to  receive  a  man  for  training  whose  per- 
sonal sense  of  a  call  is  not  reinforced  by  the 
recognition  and  endorsement  of  the  Church. 

Necessarily  this  opens  a  wide  subject,  and 
one  which  it  is  not  within  the  province  of  these 
lectures  to  deal  with,  that  namely  of  the  organ- 
ism of  the  Christian  Church,  and  its  mainte- 
nance in  full  strength.  Much  of  our  modern 
Church  life  lacks  the  experience  of  fellowship  to 
so  large  a  degree — even  when  the  theory  is  ac- 
knowledged— that  it  cannot  exercise  this  func- 
tion of  cooperation  in  the  work  of  setting  men 
apart  to  the  work  of  the  ministry.  The  man 
who  receives  the  Divine  call  may  be  compara- 
tively, and  indeed  often  completely,  unknown 
to  the  majority  of  those  who  constitute  the 
membership.  It  is  impossible  therefore  for 
them  to  come  to  anything  like  spiritual  conclu- 
sion on  the  subject.     Moreover  tdo  often,  even 


i84     PREPARATION  OF  THE  MINISTRY 

when  the  man  is  known,  our  modern  methods  of 
work,  and  the  organizations  connected  there- 
with, afford  no  opportunity  for  our  young  men 
to  exercise  their  gift  under  the  sympathetic  ob- 
servation of  the  Church.  Both  these  facts  work 
disadvantageously — to  put  it  no  more  strongly 
— in  the  interest  of  the  ministry.  Every  local 
church,  especially,  should  constitute  a  true  fel- 
lowship, in  which  the  life  of  the  whole  is 
strengthened  by  the  knowledge  of  each,  and 
contribution  in  prayer  and  converse  is  made  by 
all  to  each,  and  by  each  to  all.  Every  church 
should  moreover  have  some  training  ground  for 
its  young  people  in  Christian  speech,  and  that, 
not  relegated  to  a  society  separated  from  the 
main  currents  of  its  life,  but  nurtured  in  the 
very  midst  thereof. 

All  this  being  granted,  we  may  now  consider 
how  those  men  who  have  received  one  of  these 
gifts  are  to  be  trained.  Neither  the  man  him- 
self, nor  they  who  are  responsible  for  his  train- 
ing may,  at  first,  have  any  definite  conviction  as 
to  the  particular  nature  of  the  gift.  That  will 
emerge  in  the  course  of  training,  and  should 
qualify  the  later  stages  especially.  At  times  a 
man  from  the  beginning  is  conscious  of  the 
peculiar  gift  with  which  he  is  entrusted.    When 


PREPARATION  OF  THE  MINISTRY     185 

that  is  so,  training  should  be  from  the  beginning 
with  a  view  to  its  development.  These  particu- 
lar applications  however  must  be  left.  It  is  not 
a  difficult  task.  The  nature  of  the  gift  suggests 
the  special  treatment  necessary  for  its  cultiva- 
tion in  each  case.  I  propose  to  deal  with  the 
subject  in  the  most  general  way. 

There  are  four  phases  of  training  which  must 
be  kept  in  mind,  and  I  shall  define  them  in  gen- 
eral terms  as.  Academical,  Theological,  Practi- 
cal, and  Spiritual.  Let  me  at  once  say  that  the 
first  two  should  be  taken  in  the  order  named, 
first  the  academical,  and  then  the  theological; 
while  the  last  two,  the  practical  and  spiritual, 
should  run  concurrently  through  all  the  course. 

The  training  which  I  have  called  academical 
is  really  the  training  of  the  mind.  It  is  that 
which,  in  our  present  University  system  of  edu- 
cation, we  should  describe  as  the  Arts  Course. 
This  should,  in  my  view,  be  of  the  widest  na- 
ture, and  as  thorough  as  possible.  The  value 
of  this  is  twofold.  First,  and  again  in  my  view, 
principally,  is  the  fact  that  such  a  course  of 
mental  discipline  trains  and  perfects  the  instru- 
ment. There  is  nothing  more  important  than 
that  men  should  be  taught  to  think  for  them- 
selves, and  to  think  their  way  through.     Now  I 


i86    PREPARATION  OF  THE  MINISTRY 

affirm  it  as  my  strong  conviction,  that  men  do 
not  do  either  the  one  or  the  other  without 
serious  discipHne.  In  the  realm  of  Christian 
preaching,  it  is  as  true  as  in  any  other,  that  evil 
is  wrought  by  want  of  thought  as  well  as  want 
of  heart.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the 
Word  of  God  is  no  small  matter.  We  may  do 
incalculable  harm  by  talking  about  the  simple 
Gospel.  There  is  a  simplicity  in  the  Gospel  as 
there  is  in  Christ,  from  which  we  do  well  that 
we  do  not  depart.  But  it  is  not  the  simplicity 
of  superficiality.  There  are  the  profoundest 
depths  in  the  Truth,  as  there  are  in  Him,  in 
Whom  it  has  pleased  the.  Father  that  all  the 
fullness  of  the  Godhead  should  dwell  corpo- 
really; and  we  equally  do  well  not  to  forget  this 
fact.  To  deal  with  these  matters,  it  is  of  the 
greatest  value  that  the  mind  should  in  itself  be 
perfectly  trained,  in  order  that  in  its  approach 
to  the  Truth,  it  may  do  no  bungling  work.  It 
is  true  that  the  Apostle  is  called  upon  to  make 
Truth  clear  to  others;  the  Prophet  to  make  its 
application  living;  the  Evangelist  to  make  its 
first  message  simple;  the  Pastor  and  Teacher 
to  make  it  available  to  the  youngest  and  weak- 
est disciple;  but  the  more  complete  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  preacher  in  each  case,  the  more  sue- 


PREPARATION  OF  THE  MINISTRY     187 

cessful  will  he  be  in  accomplishing  this  purpose. 
The  completeness  of  the  preacher's  knowledge 
depends  to  a  large  extent  on  the  perfecting  of 
the  instrument  of  his  mind.  Hence  the  first 
value  of  academic  training. 

The  second  value  is  that  of  the  acquisition  of 
knowledge  in  itself.  Nothing  is  without  some 
value  in  the  work  of  preaching.  The  man  who, 
in  the  finest  sense  of  the  word,  is-  a  well-read 
man,  is  thereby  greatly  enriched  for  the  work  of 
the  ministry;  and  that  for  two  reasons.  First, 
because  over  the  whole  realm  of  knowledge 
Christ  is  King,  and  whatever  department  a  man 
knows,  is  in  itself  a  part  of  the  territory  over 
which  His  sway  extends.  Secondly,  because  in 
all  realms  of  knowledge  illustrations  may  be 
gathered  which  are  of  the  utmost  force  in  the 
elucidation  and  application  of  the  Truth  he  has 
to  proclaim.  Of  course  the  realm  of  knowledge 
is  so  vast  that  no  one  man  in  a  lifetime  can  cover 
the  whole  of  it;  and  men  preparing  for  the 
ministry  have  a  specific  subject  on  which  to 
specialize.  Therefore  selections  must  be  made 
in  the  interest  of  the  special  work. 

Generally  speaking  I  should  urge  that  the 
study  of  language  should  be  kept  to  the  front; 
especially  those  languages  in  which  the  Sacred 


i88    PREPARATION  OF  THE  MINISTRY 

Scriptures  were  written.  A  careful  and  thor- 
ough study  of  English,  the  tongue  in  which 
preaching  is  to  be  done,  is  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance. The  poor  Anglo-Saxon  of  some 
Hebrew  and  Greek  scholars  is  deplorable. 

Then  all  history  is  of  enormous  value.  It  is 
not  without  profound  significance  that  the  He- 
brews included  the  Historic  books  in  the  class 
of  Prophetic  writings.  They  understood  first, 
the  truth  about  prophecy,  that  it  is  the  speaking 
forth  of  the  Word  of  the  Lord  supremely,  and 
that  the  predictive  element  is  only  one  part  of 
it.  Then,  they  realized  that  the  true  value  of 
History  is  created  by  the  fact  that  it  reveals  the 
way  of  the  Divine  government  in  the  past,  and 
so  teaches  men  fundamental  things  concerning 
their  present  actions.  This  is  as  true  of  history 
outside  the  Biblical  Literature  as  of  that  within, 
for  as  Paul  said  on  Mars  Hill,  God  "  made  of 
one  every  nation  of  men  for  to  dwell  on  all 
the  face  of  the  earth,  having  determined  their 
appointed  seasons,  and  the  bounds  of  their 
habitation."  Hence  the  importance  of  this 
study. 

The  importance  of  the  study  of  human  sys- 
tems of  philosophy  cannot  be  overestimated. 
This  I  need  not  stay  to  emphasize  in  view  of 


PREPARATION  OF  THE  MINISTRY     189 

what  we  have  already  said  concerning  it  in  a 
previous  lecture. 

The  science  of  psychology  is  perhaps  only  yet 
in  its  infancy,  but  the  infant  is  singularly  well 
nourished,  and  full  of  strength,  and  as  it  seems 
to  me,  those  called  to  the  Ministry  of  the  Word 
cannot  afford  to  neglect  it.  I  do  not  suggest 
that  they  are  to  be  experts  in  the  science,  or 
that  they  will  be  called  to  lecture  on  it;  but  an 
understanding  of  the  mind  of  man,  so  far  as  it 
is  known,  must  be  of  untold  value  to  those  who 
have  to  deal  with  the  Truth.  It  is  unanimously 
conceded  that  such  knowledge  is  important  in 
educational  work.  It  is  not  enough  to  know 
the  subject  to  be  taught.  It  is  necessary  to 
know  the  mind  of  those  to  be  taught. 

Personally,  moreover,  I  would  compel  every 
man  who  is  going  to  preach  to  take  a  course 
in  the  theory  and  practice  of  pedagogy,  and  of 
elocution.  The  value  of  knowing  how  to  im- 
part knowledge,  which  is  of  the  very  essence 
of  real  teaching,  is  fundamental  to  the  work 
of  proclaiming  the  Truth,  and  that  in  every 
phase  of  the  work  of  the  Ministry.  A  man 
may  be  able  to  write,  and  to  recite  a  treatise, 
and  such  work  is  excellent;  but  it  is  of  very 
much  greater  service  to  men  and  to  the  cause 


igo    PREPARATION  OF  THE  MINISTRY 

of  Christ,  if  he  be  able  so  to  impart  the  knowl- 
edge that  others  may  receive  it.  It  may  be  that 
preaching  which  is  of  this  nature  may  lack 
something  of  literary  finish,  but  I  would  sacri- 
fice a  good  deal  in  the  interests  of  clarity.  Elo- 
cution in  this  regard  is  not  to  be  neglected. 
Anything  strained,  artificial,  theatrical,  is  to  be 
sedulously  avoided;  but  articulation,  enuncia- 
tion, light  and  shade,  should  be  as  sedulously 
cultivated. 

For  my  illustrations  I  am  prepared  to 
apologize,  but  not  for  my  main  contention  that 
the  minister  of  the  Word  cannot  know  too 
much,  nor  have  too  thorough  a  training 
academically. 

All  this  however  is  preliminary;  and  because 
it  is  preliminary  my  conviction  is  that  it  ought 
to  be  taken  first  in  order  of  time.  Wherever 
possible  I  would  prevent  any  man  approaching 
the  study  of  Systematic  Theology  until  his 
academic  training  was  complete.  It  is  my  own 
conviction  that  to  bring  a  half-trained  mind,  or 
a  mind  in  process  of  training,  to  that  study  is  a 
grave  mistake,  and  issues  in  those  hasty  judg- 
ments which  are  too  often  mistaken  for 
advanced  thought.  Necessarily  throughout  the 
whole  of  this  academic  training,  the  student  will 


PREPARATION  OF  THE  MINISTRY     191 

continue  his  reading  and  diligent  study  of  the 
Scriptures  themselves.  This  for  devotional 
purposes,  and  also  to  give  him  the  grounding  in 
knowledge  of  them,  w^hich  v^ill  be  of  value  v^hen 
he  begins  the  more  systematic  study  of  The- 
ology. 

The  mind  having  been  thus  trained  in  the 
academic  course,  the  great  v^ork  may  begin, 
that  namely  of  the  instruction  of  the  trained 
mind  in  its  special  subject,  which  we  now  define 
by  the  general  term  Theology.  To  that  term 
I  have  no  objection,  providing  always  that  we 
remember  that  it  connotes  more  than  it  means 
philologically.  Technically,  Theology  is  the 
science  of  God,  and  that  is  the  knowledge  of 
God.  According  to  our  Lord  Himself  this  is 
life  eternal.  It  is  therefore  the  Word  of  God  in 
all  its  fulness. 

With  any  particular  method  or  system  of 
Theology  I  have  nothing  whatever  to  do  now, 
and  I  am  not  proposing  to  tarry  here,  save  to 
insist  upon  one  or  two  fundamental  matters. 
The  first  is  that  of  the  absolute  necessity  for 
the  training  of  every  man  who  enters  the  min- 
istry in  Theology  in  this  widest  sense.  Here  a 
man  must  do  more  than  specialize  in  a  depart- 
ment.    He  must  see  the  whole,  so  as  to  realize 


192     PREPARATION  OF  THE  MINISTRY 

the  value  of  the  parts.  Nothing  is  more  dan- 
gerous than  the  over-emphasis  of  a  truth. 
Every  phase  of  Truth  is  not  only  completed  by, 
it  is  corrected  by,  every  other  phase.  George 
Herbert's  v^^ords  about  the  Bible  may  be  quoted 
here  as  most  appropriate  to  the  subject  of  The- 
ology ; 

"  O  that  I  knew  how  all  thy  lights  combine. 
And  the  configurations  of  their  glory ! 
Seeing  not  only  how  each  verse  doth  shine. 
But  all  the  constellations  of  the  story." 

There  have  been  many  systems  of  Theology. 
They  are  still  emerging.  Doubtless  there  will 
be  many  more.  These  are  all  valuable, — little 
systems,  that  have  their  day,  and  cease  to  be. 
They  are  valuable,  both  in  their  day,  and  in 
their  ceasing  to  be;  as  they  help  men  to  imme- 
diate understanding,  and  then  make  way  for 
new  statements  adapted  to  the  new  age.  The 
one  System  that  is  for  every  successive  day,  and 
that  does  not  cease  to  be,  is  that  which  we  have 
in  the  Bible. 

Fundamentally  then  theological  training  is 
Biblical,  and  to  the  Bible  Literature  itself  most 
earnest  attention  must  be  given.  It  should 
have  the  supreme  place  in  theological  training. 
Let  the  method  with  all  human  systems  be  ec- 


PREPARATION  OF  THE  MINISTRY     193 

lectic.  The  more  of  these  a  man  can  examine 
in  his  course  the  better,  providing  that  he  al- 
lows them  to  be  tested  by  the  Biblical  standard, 
and  does  not  attempt  to  crowd  the  Biblical  sys- 
tem into  their  narrow  formulae.  That  is  all  I 
desire  to  say  on  that  subject. 

We  now  come  to  the  two  phases  of  training 
that  should  be  conterminous  with  the  whole 
course,  those  namely  which  are  practical  and 
spiritual. 

From  the  beginning  of  their  training,  men 
called  to  the  exercise  of  the  ministry  of  the 
Word  should  have  practice  in  preaching  under 
wise  and  sympathetic  oversight.  It  is  well  also 
if  he  can  have  pastoral  practice,  also  under 
apostolic  oversight.  It  may  be  objected  that 
the  plea  I  have  urged  for  the  academic  course 
having  the  first  period  in  training,  is  against 
this  idea,  because  the  student  has  no  theological 
training.  To  that  I  should  reply;  first,  that 
every  man  who  is  a  Christian  believer,  and  is 
conscious  of  the  call  to  preach,  has  already  some 
knowledge  of  the  Word;  and  secondly,  that 
neither  the  man  himself  nor  his  congregation 
will  expect  that  his  preaching  should  be  other 
than  the  simple  statement  of  those  things  which 
he  believes.     I  think  no  greater  mistake  can  be 


194     PREPARATION  OF  THE  MINISTRY 

made  than  to  neglect  preaching  for  a  number  of 
years. 

Here  I  propose  to  take  the  opportunity  of 
protesting  with  all  the  force  of  the  strongest 
conviction  against  the  ordinary  sermon-class,  in 
which  a  man  is  called  upon  to  preach  before  his 
fellow  students  and  members  of  the  faculty. 
The  whole  method  cuts  at  the  root  of  the  true 
idea  of  preaching.  The  man  prepares  for  his 
sermon-class,  from  an  entirely  wrong  motive. 
His  sermon  will  be  criticized,  sometimes  kindly, 
sometimes  brutally,  from  the  lower  standards 
of  consideration.  Its  essential  character  of  be- 
ing a  message  of  God  to  men  cannot  be  dealt 
with  in  a  sermon-class.  It  is  above  and  beyond 
criticism.  Moreover  what  man  can  preach  to 
such  an  audience?  Of  course  he  does  not  at- 
tempt to  do  so.  He  preaches  before  them,  and 
preaching  before  men  is  not  preaching  in  the 
Biblical  sense.  No;  this  is  not  the  practice  for 
which  I  plead.  Let  these  men  in  training  be 
sent  out  two  by  two  into  the  villages,  into  the 
towns,  especially  to  difficult  places;  and  let 
them  go  to  preach  the  Truth  as  they  know  it,  to 
the  people.  Let  the  two  be  encouraged  to  go 
in  manly,  sane,  and  yet  distinctly  spiritual  fel- 
lowship ;  let  them  go  to  help  each  other,  not  to 


PREPARATION  OF  THE  MINISTRY     195 

manifest  their  cleverness  either  in  the  preach- 
ing, or  in  the  criticism.  Then  they  will  do  two 
things  at  once.  They  will  help  those  to  whom 
they  go,  and  they  will  grow  in  the  ability  to  deal 
with  men  as  they  preach. 

During  the  whole  course  of  training,  such 
preaching  should  be  under  the  guidance  of 
competent  men,  both  as  to  its  matter  and  its 
method.  As  to  the  matter,  written  sermons 
should  be  submitted,  such  sermons  as  have  ac- 
tually been  preached,  that  the  Teacher  may 
show  the  faults  of  reasoning,  or  the  failures  of 
illustrations;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  encourage 
evident  ability  in  certain  directions,  as  it  mani- 
fests itself.  These  men  should  be  encouraged 
to  preach  from  notes,  and  these  notes  should  be 
submitted  for  the  same  kind  of  revision.  As  to 
the  method,  the  Professor  of  Homiletics  would 
gain  much  of  real  influence  if  in  turn  he  was  the 
other  one  of  the  two,  and  so  heard  the  man  him- 
self preach.  Let  him  walk  home  with  the  stu- 
dent, or  get  him  into  his  study  for  a  quiet  talk 
afterwards,  and  point  out  the  failures  and  excel- 
lencies which  he  observed.  We  have  sadly  neg- 
lected the  true  practical  training  of  men  for 
the  work  of  preaching,  and  the  neglect  is  being 
felt  everywhere  to-day. 


196     PREPARATION  OF  THE  MINISTRY 

The  final  matter  is  that  of  spiritual  training. 
In  some  senses  this  is  supreme.  The  first  ex- 
perience of  the  man  knowing  that  he  is  called  to 
the  ministry  of  the  Word,  is  inevitably  that  of 
the  grandeur  and  solemnity  of  the  work.  He 
faces  it  with  a  sense  of  joy,  mingled  with  fear 
and  trembling. 

The  perils  of  the  period  of  training  are  very 
definite.  Inevitably  the  necessary  work  of  crit- 
ical investigation  will  seem  to  challenge  every- 
thing that  he  has  held  most  sacred.  From  this 
there  can  be  no  escape,  and  I  am  inclined  to  say 
that  the  man  who  does  escape  it,  misses  one  of 
the  surest  methods  to  the  finding  of  a  firmer 
and  larger  faith.  Nevertheless  the  process  is  a 
very  searching  one. 

Then  there  is  the  special  peril  of  the  commu-^ 
nity  of  purpose  and  of  faith.  Christian  men  in 
other  walks  of  life  have  the  advantage  of  the 
friction  caused  by  daily  contact  with  those  who 
are  not  Christians.  Students  for  the  ministry, 
for  a  period,  largely  lack  this.  Very  often  too, 
a  sane  dread  of  anything  that  savours  of  cant 
and  unreality  will  prevent  that  spiritual  inter- 
course which  is  really  necessary  to  the  develop- 
ment of  strong  spiritual  life.  There  is  also  the 
peril  of  the  first  gaining  of  new  knowledge.     A 


PREPARATION  OF  THE  MINISTRY     197 

man  is  always  at  least  threatened  with  the  vain 
imagination  that  he  knows  much,  when  really 
he  has  hardly  found  out  how  ignorant  he  is. 

All  these  things,  and  many  others  peculiar  to 
the  period  of  training,  can  only  be  guarded 
against  by  the  careful  cultivation  of  the  habits 
of  the  truly  religious  life.  Habits  I  say,  re- 
membering that  they  have  to  be  formed,  as  cer- 
tainly as  do  evil  habits.  Theological  students 
need  pastoral  oversight  as  surely  as  do  other 
Christian  people,  and  of  a  very  special  kind. 

Happy  are  the  men  who,  called  to  the  Minis- 
try, have  the  privilege  of  a  full  and  careful  train- 
ing; and  highly  privileged  are  those  to  whom 
the  sacred  work  is  committed. 


THE  EXERCISE  OF  THE  VOCATION 

THE  day  when  a  man  stands  girded  at 
the  threshold  of  his  actual  work  in  the 
ministry  of  the  Word,  is  a  day  full  of 
mystic  wonder.  He  is  conscious  of  strange 
lights  and  shadows,  of  joy  and  of  fear,  of  hope 
and  almost  of  despair.  The  opportunities  of 
service  are  seen  to  be  at  once  so  vast,  and  so  full 
of  solemnity,  that  he  is  seized  with  a  sense  of 
inability,  and  of  unworthiness.  He  feels  in  his 
own  soul  what  the  Apostle  undoubtedly  felt  as 
he  inquired;  "Who  is  sufficient  for  these 
things?"  Nevertheless  he  is  conscious  anew 
of  the  iact  that  his  call  was  from  God,  and  that 
Divine  resources  are  ever  at  the  disposal  of 
those  called  to  Divine  service;  and  so  a  sense  of 
dependence  is  also  a  sense  of  confidence.  These 
apparently  conflicting  emotions  fill  the  soul 
with  a  great  and  reverent  awe. 

Perhaps  the  most  common  disaster  in  min- 
198 


EXERCISE  OF  THE  VOCATION     199 

isterial  life  is  the  loss  of  this  very  sense  of  awe. 
The  glory  passes;  the  light  becomes  dim;  the 
wonder  ceases;  and  work  becomes  routine,  and 
preaching  a  drudgery.  How  is  this  to  be  obvi- 
ated, and  the  first  glory  maintained  undimmed? 
This  is  really  a  great  question,  demanding  seri- 
ous consideration.  I  propose  to  deal  with  it  so 
far  as  I  am  able  strictly  from  the  positive  side. 
There  are  four  matters  which  seem  to  me  to  be 
of  paramount  importance  in  the  exercise  of  the 
vocation  of  the  ministry  of  the  Word.  They 
are;  first,  the  prayerful  culture  of  the  spiritual 
life;  secondly,  the  persistent  study  of  the  Word; 
thirdly,  the  practice  of  purposeful  preaching; 
and  finally,  the  patient  shepherding  of  the  flock. 

Wherever  a  man  gives  himself  with  all  his 
heart  and  mind  and  will  to  these  things,  the 
glad  surprise  and  mystic  glory  of  his  work  will 
never  cease.  Dark  days,  and  weary  ways,  he 
will  certainly  know;  but  so  also  did  his  Lord. 
Nevertheless  the  light  for  Him  never  failed,  and 
all  the  tiresome  ways  led  onward  to  the  glori- 
ous goal.  So  also  will  it  be  with  those  whom 
He  calls,  sends,  accompanies,  if  they  are  true  to 
Him  and  to  His  service.  Of  these  things  then 
let  us  think. 

The  matter  of  first  importance  is  that  of  the 


200    EXERCISE  OF  THE  VOCATION 

culture  of  the  spiritual  life,  or  to  put  it  in  an- 
other way,  the  maintenance  of  life  in  the  Spirit. 
The  minister  of  the  Word  must  ever  remember 
that  his  one  business  is  to  deal  with  spiritual 
things.  This  by  no  means  suggests  that  he  is 
to  separate  spiritual  truth  and  being  from 
things  mental  and  material,  as  though  they 
were  in  some  sense  abstractions,  having  no  liv- 
ing relation  with  these  matters.  But  it  is  of 
absolute  urgency  in  order  to  the  exercise  of  his 
true  function,  that  he  should  remember  that  he 
is  not  called  and  equipped  by  the  heavenly  gift 
for  deahng  with  the  mental  and  the  material, 
apart  from  the  spiritual.  His  one  business  in 
the  realm  of  thought  is  to  bring  to  bear  upon  it 
the  light  of  the  eternal  Wisdom ;  and  his  one  re- 
sponsibility in  the  realm  of  action  is  to  seek  to 
inspire  it  with  spiritual  principle  and  passion. 
The  work  of  the  Christian  preacher  is  that  of 
bringing  to  bear  upon  human  words,  opinions, 
teachings,  the  correcting  and  guiding  light  of 
the  Word  of  the  living  God.  The  work  of  the 
Christian  preacher  is  that  of  relating  all  human 
action,  in  whatever  realm,  to  the  Divine  pur- 
pose and  enterprise,  in  order  that  it  may  be 
true,  and  strong,  and  lasting. 

It  follows  that  a  man  called  to  be  the  instru- 


EXERCISE  OF  THE  VOCATION     201 

ment  of  such  service  must  himself  Hve  in  the 
spiritual  atmosphere.  This  means  that  he  must 
practise  the  presence  of  God.  This  is  much 
more  than  accepting  the  theory  of  the  Divine 
immanence.  It  is  the  persistent  and  perpetual 
relating  of  all  personal  thought  and  action  to 
that  Presence.  This  demands,  first  of  all,  the 
exercise  of  the  spiritual  faculties.  Inquiry  must 
be  made  of  God,  as  to  w^hat  the  way  and  the  will 
of  God  may  be,  with  regard  to  everything,  the 
great  and  the  small,  the  small  as  earnestly  as 
the  great.  Not  only  must  there  be  inquiry,  the 
spirit  must  be  trained  to  wait  and  to  listen. 
The  haste  that  cannot  wait  on  the  Lord  must 
be  denied.  If  there  is  not  time  to  seek  the 
Lord,  there  is  not  time  to  do  anything.  The 
doing  that  begins  without  the  discovery  of  the 
Divine  will  is  indeed  deadly.  All  this  in  turn 
calls  for  response  to  the  demands  which  are 
made  as  the  result  of  such  inquiry  and  such 
waiting.  There  must  be  the  yielding  of  the 
judgment,  that  is  the  renewing  of  the  mind ; 
the  consent  of  the  heart,  that  is  the  dedication 
of  the  aflFection;  and  implicit  obedience,  that  is 
the  yielding  of  the  will.  This  life,  actively  in 
the  spiritual  world,  must  be  resolute,  and  con- 
tinuous.    No  man  can  fulfil  his  ministry  in  spir- 


202     EXERCISE  OF  THE  VOCATION 

itual  things,  save  as  he  himself  is  Uving  in  right 
Telation  with  spiritual  things.  When  the  Word 
ceases  to  be  a  light,  a  fire,  a  joy  to  a  man  in  his 
own  life,  searching,  energizing,  heartening  him ; 
his  preaching  of  it  becomes  a  weariness,  a 
drudgery  to  his  own  soul,  and  utterly  ineffective 
in  the  lives  of  others. 

Of  true  spiritual  life  for  the  minister  of  the 
Word,  as  for  all  others,  there  is  a  twofold  condi- 
tion, and  test,  in  the  realm  of  the  material.  No 
divorce  between  the  body  and  the  spirit  is  pos- 
sible in  this  life.  The  body  is  the  instrument  of 
the  spirit.  No  separation  between  ordinary 
human  afifairs,  and  the  things  of  the  spirit,  is 
possible  in  this  world.  The  things  of  everyday 
life  are  the  opportunities  of  spiritual  realization 
and  expression.  The  condition  for  true  per- 
sonal spirituality  is  bodily  fitness.  The  test  of 
spirituality  is  the  use  a  man  makes  of  his  body. 
Not  by  its  destruction  does  he  demonstrate  his 
spiritual  attainment,  but  by  its  possession  and 
use.  The  opportunities  for  spiritual  service  are 
the  commonplaces  of  everyday  life.  The  test 
of  spirituality  is  the  use  a  man  makes  of  these 
opportunities.  Not  by  escape  from  them  does 
he  demonstrate  his  spirituality,  but  by  their 
sanctification  and  beautifying.    To  minister  the 


EXERCISE  OF  THE  VOCATION     203 

Word  so  as  to  produce  these  results  in  the  Hves 
of  others  must  be  to  live  by  the  Word  in  this 
very  sense.  No  minister  of  the  Word  can  neg- 
lect the  habits  of  the  spiritual  life  vi^ithout  dis- 
aster to  his  ov^n  soul,  and  to  his  w^ork  therefore. 
The  second  matter  of  importance  is  that  of 
the  persistent  study  of  the  Word  on  the  part  of 
the  minister.  This  seems  so  obvious  as  to  need 
no  argument,  and  yet  I  fear  that  it  is  at  this 
point  that  very  many  have  sadly  failed.  In  the 
years  of  preparation  much  has  been  done,  in  the 
very  necessity  of  the  case;  and  all  that  has  been 
done  is  of  the  greatest  value.  Indeed  the  real 
value  of  the  technical  w^ork  of  these  years  will 
only  now  begin  to  be  known.  Nevertheless  all 
this  has  been  preparatory.  By  that  I  do  not 
mean  preparatory  to  preaching  merely,  though 
of  course  that  is  true.  I  mean  preparatory  to 
that  particular  study  of  the  Word  which  must 
be  undertaken,  as  the  definite  work  of  the  min- 
istry is  taken  up.  The  minister  will  now  turn 
to  the  Word  in  the  company  of  his  work,  as  he 
goes  to  his  work  in  the  company  of  the  Word. 
That  is  to  say,  he  will  not  now  go  to  his  Bible 
in  order  to  discover  its  teaching  in  the  abstract 
merely.  He  will  turn  to  it,  burdened  with  the 
needs,  the  problems,  yes,  and  the  agonies  of 


204     EXERCISE  OF  THE  VOCATION 

men;  in  order  to  seek  its  light  upon  these 
things,  so  that  his  ministry  may  be  a  service  of 
direction,  of  healing,  of  help.  To  sit  down  in 
happy  seclusion,  separated  from  all  men  and 
matters,  in  order  to  know  the  Scriptures,  is  one 
thing,  and  a  great  and  joyful  thing.  It  is  quite 
another  matter  to  go  into  seclusion,  carrying  in 
with  you  the  sins  and  sorrows  of  human  souls 
in  order  to  find  the  Divine  salvation  and  com- 
fort. Happy  indeed  is  the  man  who  has  had  a 
thorough  training  in  the  former  method.  That 
will  be  of  inestimable  value  now.  But  he  can- 
not wholly  depend  on  it.  He  must  ;  back  to 
a  yet  more  diligent  devotion  to  stuu3 .  Using 
our  great  phrase,  "  The  Word  of  God,"  as  re- 
ferring to  the  Sacred  Writings,  I  declare  that 
its  deepest  tones  are  never  heard,  its  most  won- 
derful revelation  is  never  known,  until  great 
human  need  appeals  to  it.  The  minister  of  the 
Word  must  make  that  appeal  vicariously,  for 
those  to  whom  he  is  called  upon  to  minister. 

Who  that  has  been  long  in  the  work  has  not 
known  the  travail  and  the  triumph  of  this  expe- 
rience? It  is  an  awful  and  a  glorious  thing  to 
be  made  the  bearer  of  the  sin,  the  shame,  the 
suflFering  of  human  souls;  to  carry  these  things 
into  the  light  of  the  Divine  revelation;  to  hear 


EXERCISE  OF  THE  VOCATION     205 

its  message  of  power,  of  hope,  of  comfort;  and 
then  to  minister  to  those  in  need.  The  man 
who  does  not  so  continue  to  be  a  student  of 
the  Word  will  fail  in  the  exercise  of  his  min- 
istry, however  talented  he  may  be  in  other 
ways. 

Here  then  is  a  peril  which  confronts  a  man  as 
he  leaves  his  college  and  commences  his  work. 
We  are  apt  to  think  that  in  the  days  of  prepara- 
tion we  have  done  our  work,  and  that  we  know 
our  Bibles.  We  are  tempted  to  turn  to  human 
opinions,  even  to  be  enamoured  of  that  illusory, 
ephemeral,  anaemic  thing  called  "  current 
thought."  Let  us  guard  against  the  tempta- 
tion from  the  very  beginning,  and  continuously. 
In  the  comparatively  small  compass  of  our 
Bibles  we  shall  find  all  that  the  human  soul 
needs.  While  we  may  have  much  help  from 
other  literature  in  illustration  and  interpreta- 
tion, let  us  never  forget  that  of  all  other  writ- 
ings in  comparison  with  the  Bible  it  may  be 
said, 

"  These  are  but  broken  lights  of  Thee." 

Therefore  let  us  be  diligent  students  of  the 
Word. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  these  lectures  to  give 


2o6     EXERCISE  OF  THE  VOCATION 

anything  like  technical  details,  but  I  may  at 
least  give  a  general  suggestion  as  to  a  minis- 
ter's method.  First,  let  his  library  be  carefully 
chosen,  and  let  it  be  good,  rather  than  large. 
To  any  man  beginning  the  work  of  library 
building  I  should  say,  let  these  words  guide 
you,  Exegesis,  Exposition,  Everything.  Keep  that 
order.  Never  make  the  worst  blunder  of  all, 
that  of  getting  everything  first.  Neither  make 
perhaps  the  more  common  mistake  of  putting 
exposition  in  the  place  of  exegesis.  The  former  is 
at  best  very  often  no  more  than  the  opinions 
of  others.  The  latter  will,  in  the  proportion  in 
which  it  is  really  scholarly,  help  you  to  know 
what  the  Word  really  says. 

Then  I  would  urge  every  minister  as  he  com- 
mences his  actual  work  to  get  a  new  Bible,  and 
begin  all  over  again,  giving  special  attention  to 
two  matters.  First,  let  him  turn  to  the  books 
he  thinks  he  knows  best,  in  order  to  find  how 
much  there  is  that  he  had  not  discovered. 
Then  let  him  resolutely  turn  to  the  parts  least 
known,  most  neglected,  determined  to  face  and 
to  know  them.  As  I  have  said  before,  for  my 
illustrations  I  apologize,  but  not  for  my  conten- 
tion. No  man  can  be  a  successful  minister  of 
the  Word — and  I  use  the  word  successful  in  its 


EXERCISE  OF  THE  VOCATION     207 

best  sense — who  ceases  to  be  a  student  of  the 
Word.  Let  me  add  that  no  man  need  fear  that 
he  will  exhaust  its  treasures. 

The  third  matter  of  importance  is  that  of  pur- 
poseful preaching.  All  preaching,  whether 
apostolic,  prophetic,  evangelistic,  or  pastoral, 
has  one  aim ;  that  namely  of  the  capture  of  the 
central  citadel  of  Mansoul,  the  will.  The  intel- 
lect and  the  emotions  are  highways  of  approach, 
and  both  should  be  employed.  The  one  thing 
of  which  we  need  to  be  constantly  reminding 
ourselves,  is  that  we  have  never  accomplished 
the  real  end  of  preaching  until  we  have  reached 
the  will,  and  constrained  it  towards  the  choices 
which  are  in  harmony  with  the  Truth  which  we 
declare.  I  say  "  constrained  it  "  towards  these 
choices,  rather  than  "  compelled  it "  to  them,  for 
this  latter  we  can  never  do.  The  former  we 
may,  and  it  is  our  one  business  to  do  so.  To 
instruct  the  intelligence  is  necessary,  but  it  is  a 
means  to  an  end,  rather  than  an  end.  The  last 
word  of  the  preacher  along  these  lines  is,  "  If 
ye  know  these  things,  happy  are  ye  if  ye  do 
them.'*  It  is  in  order  to  the  doing  of  the  will 
of  God  that  His  will  is  to  be  made  known.  To 
touch  and  move  the  emotions  is  perfectly 
proper,  but  it  also  is  a  means  to  an  end,  rather 


2o8     EXERCISE  OF  THE  VOCATION 

than  an  end.  The  last  word  of  the  preacher 
along  these  lines  must  ever  be  that  of  the  Lord, 
"  If  ye  love  Me  ye  w^ill  keep  My  command- 
ments." That  man  is  indeed  happy,  who,  him- 
self instructed  in  the  things  of  God,  and  inspired 
by  the  love  of  God,  can  storm  the  citadel  of 
human  will,  along  the  avenues  of  intelligence 
and  emotion,  capturing  it  for  his  Lord,  and  con- 
straining it  to  obedience  to  His  Word. 

The  minister  of  the  Word  has  two  questions 
which  he  must  always  ask  himself  concerning 
his  preaching;  first,  What  is  the  need  I  am  to 
address?  Secondly,  What  is  the  message  I  am 
to  deliver?  The  answer  to  the  first  is  known 
fundamentally  and  essentially.  He  always 
speaks  to  the  deepest  things  in  human  life,  the 
things  of  the  spirit,  the  things  that  are  of  abid- 
ing importance,  and  which  touch  and  influence 
finally  all  the  secondary  things.  But  these 
things  have  an  almost  infinite  variety  of  inci- 
dental expression ;  and  the  man  who  would 
preach  the  Word  prevailingly  to  his  fellow  men 
must  live  among  them;  he  must  know  the  hu- 
man spirit  as  well  as  the  Word  of  God.  His 
business  must  be  to  know  the  need  he  ad- 
dresses. 

Knowing  this  need  he  must  then   seek  his 


EXERCISE  OF  THE  VOCATION     209 

message.  Here  again  inclusively  he  is  never  at 
a  loss.  That  by  which  man  lives,  in  the  deep- 
est of  his  life,  is  the  Word  of  God.  But  the  in- 
cidental application  must  be  as  varied  as  is  the 
incidental  expression;  and  he  who  would  preach 
the  Word  prevailingly  must  live  with  the  Word ; 
he  must  know  the  Word  of  God  as  well  as  the 
human  spirit.  His  business  must  be  to  know 
the  remedy  for  the  need  he  addresses. 

Besides  these  two,  no  other  question  is  really 
important.  The  preacher  is  not  to  ask  whether 
they  will  hear  or  whether  they  will  forbear;  al- 
though the  passion  of  his  soul  must  be  to  per- 
suade them  to  obey.  He  will  never  halt  in  the 
delivery  of  his  message  to  inquire  as  to  whether 
it  is  likely  to  be  pleasant  or  disturbing.  Neither 
of  these  is  necessarily  authoritative,  and  this  the 
preacher  should  remember.  To  some  tempera- 
ments there  is  always  the  temptation  to  think 
that  the  unpleasant  is  the  true  and  the  power- 
ful. Others  are  tempted  to  imagine  that  the 
restful  is  the  only  valuable  note.  Both  ideas 
are  equally  false.  The  Word  of  God  will  some- 
times shake  the  very  foundations,  and  disturb 
the  spirit  to  its  depths;  while  at  others  it  will 
come  as  peace  and  quietness,  calming  all  the 
storm   into   rest.     The   passing   effects   of   the 


2IO    EXERCISE  OF  THE  VOCATION 

Word  are  nothing.  The  ultimate  victory  in 
the  sanctification  of  men  and  women  to  the  will 
of  God  is  everything. 

The  preacher  therefore  has  always  two  su- 
preme duties  in  preaching,  beyond  the  procla- 
mation of  his  message.  They  are  those  of  ap- 
plication and  appeal.  The  Word  declared  must 
be  applied  to  the  need  as  it  is  known.  This 
must  be  done  with  knowledge  and  discretion; 
but  it  must  be  done,  or  the  preaching  may  fail 
to  realize  its  highest  intention  and  purpose. 
Moreover  he  must  appeal  to  the  will,  calling  it 
to  surrender  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  This 
appeal  must  be  made  with  conviction  as  well  as 
with  passion.  Passion  characterized  by  un- 
reality is  of  no  avail;  it  is  worse  than  convic- 
tion without  passion.  Painted  fire  never  burns. 
But  conviction  without  passion  often  fails  to 
reach  its  goal.     Unlit  fuel  never  burns. 

Let  ministers  of  the  Word  preach  the  things 
of  which  they  themselves  know  the  power,  and 
preach  them  with  the  passionate  earnestness  of 
which  such  things  are  worthy,  and  the  ministry 
will  be  a  constant  triumph  and  a  perpetual  joy; 
even  if  it  be  also  a  constant  travail,  and  per- 
petual fellowship  with  the  sufferings  of  the 
Lord. 


EXERCISE  OF  THE  VOCATION     211 

The  final  matter  in  the  exercise  of  vocation 
is  that  of  the  patient  shepherding  of  those  who 
are  gathered  into  the  flock  as  the  result  of 
preaching.  The  word  shepherding  has  applica- 
tion principally  to  the  distinctly  pastoral  office, 
but  the  principles  involved  apply  in  each  case. 
In  apostolic  ministry  there  is  need  for  such  de- 
tailed interpretation  as  may  be  necessary  to 
meet  the  need  of  individual  cases.  In  prophetic 
ministry,  administration  as  well  as  application 
will  constantly  be  called  for.  In  evangelistic 
ministry,  personal  direction  will  inevitably  be 
necessary.  In  each  case  much  more  than  sur- 
face knowledge  is  demanded,  both  of  the  mes- 
sage and  of  the  men  to  be  instructed,  guided, 
directed. 

I  propose  to  confine  myself  to  the  more 
strictly  pastoral  phase.  Here  there  must  first 
be  the  perpetual  feeding  of  the  flock  by  the 
systematic  teaching  of  the  Word.  The  work 
of  the  Pastor  in  this  regard  is  not  completely 
done  by  preaching  from  isolated  texts.  It  goes 
without  saying  that  it  is  not  done  at  all  by 
preaching  about  topics,  save  as  they  are  dealt 
with  in  the  light  of  the  Word.  It  is  the  busi- 
ness of  the  Pastor  and  Teacher  to  lead  the  peo- 
ple under  his   care   in   careful   and   intelligent 


212     EXERCISE  OF  THE  VOCATION 

study  of  the  Sacred  Writings.  Every  Church 
should  be  a  Bible  School,  a  Bible  College,  and 
its  minister  should  take  oversight  of  all  Biblical 
teaching,  from  the  Primary  Department  of  his 
Sunday  School,  through  every  grade,  and  up 
to  the  oldest  members  of  the  Church.  Much  of 
the  detail  work  he  must  delegate  to  others,  but 
nothing  of  it  should  be  outside  his  knowledge 
and  direction.  His  charge  is  to  feed  the  lambs, 
and  the  sheep. 

I  refrain  from  discussion  of  methods  in  detail, 
contenting  myself  with  this  statement  of  a 
broad  principle,  which  I  hold  to  be  of  great 
importance. 

Beyond  this,  however,  the  Pastor  has  a  dou- 
ble duty.  He  must  take  oversight  of  the  flock, 
and  he  must  guide  it.  What  John  Ruskin  said 
of  the  Bishops  in  Sesame  and  Lilies  is  true  of  all 
shepherds  of  the  flock.  If  they  do  not  know 
their  people  and  their  needs  they  are  no 
bishops.  Here  is  the  true  place  of  pastoral 
visitation.  This  however  is  a  whole  subject, 
and  in  some  senses  a  separate  one.  I  refer  to 
it  because  it  ought  to  have  the  closest  relation 
to  the  ministry  of  the  Word.  It  is  by  this 
method  that  the  true  Pastor  discovers  the  needs 
of  his  people,  and  so  knows  how  to  bring  forth 


EXERCISE  OF  THE  VOCATION     213 

things  new  and  old  out  of  his  treasury.  It  goes 
without  saying  that  pastoral  visitation  is  much 
more  than  calling  at  houses,  drinking  tea,  and 
indulging  in  profitless  conversation. 

His  guidance  of  his  flock  is  a  sacred  duty, 
also.  Sometimes  it  is  his  duty  to  indicate  a 
worthy  line  of  conduct,  even  when  his  advice  is 
not  sought.  This  is  not  always  easy;  it  is  at 
times  found  to  be  unwelcome,  even  resented; 
but  if  he  is  faithful  to  his  duty  it  must  be  done, 
and  it  is  wonderful  how  responsive  the  human 
soul  is  to  such  guidance.  Such  guidance  is  con- 
stantly sought,  and  the  methods  of  private  per- 
sonal interviews  and  correspondence  are  of 
great  value  in  shepherding  the  sheep. 

There  is  yet  another  thing  the  Pastor  may 
have  to  do.  He  may  have  to  fight.  There  are 
still  evil,  wolfish  interests,  and  human  beings 
who  prowl  around  the  flock  to  destroy,  and 
with  such  the  shepherd  is  always  at  war. 

In  view  of  all  these  responsibilities, — which 
are  privileges  also  because  they  are  shared  with 
the  Good,  the  Great,  the  Chief  Shepherd, — how 
important  it  ever  is  that  the  Pastor  should  de- 
fine his  spiritual  relationship  with  his  people 
clearly.  He  should  see  to  it  that  he  establish 
no  relation  with  them,  either  political  or  social, 


214     EXERCISE  OF  THE  VOCATION 

which  would  prevent  his  fulfilment  in  their  lives 
of  his  high  spiritual  function. 

To  realize  this  ideal  of  the  exercise  of  the 
vocation  of  the  ministry  of  the  Word  will  give 
the  minister  no  spare  time.  It  will,  however, 
demand  recreative  intervals,  in  which,  escaping 
entirely  from  all  the  particular  work  of  his  sa- 
cred office,  he  finds  renewal  and  recuperation. 
Such  intervals  should  be  marked  ofif  as  sacred, 
and  no  pressure  of  work  should  be  allowed  to 
interfere.  To  say  that  is  to  have  to  add; 
"  Lord,  have  mercy  upon  us,  miserable  of- 
fenders, and  incline  our  hearts  to  keep  this 
law." 

But  again  this  conception  as  the  goal  of  en- 
deavour will  preserve  the  minister  from  any 
sense  of  failing  interest.  It  will  often  almost 
burden  him  that  his  opportunities  are  so  vast, 
never  that  they  are  narrow.  With  every  pass- 
ing year,  the  Word  to  which  he  yields  himself 
that  he  may  give  it  to  others,  will  grow  in 
strength  and  beauty,  and  the  joy  of  declaring  it 
will  be  his  strength  as  well  as  his  duty. 


EPILOGUE 

IN  our  introductory  study  we  considered  the 
setting  of  the  phrase  which  has  constituted 
our  Theme.  In  conclusion  we  return  to 
that  setting.  In  the  statement  of  which  the 
phrase  is  a  part,  we  find  two  activities  referred 
to,  both  of  which  are  quahfied  by  an  attitude  of 
mind,  and  a  corresponding  output  of  energy; 
"  We  will  continue  stedfastly  in  prayer,  and 
in  the  ministry  of  the  Word."  The  activities 
are  those  of  "  prayer  "  and  "  the  ministry  of 
the  Word  ";  the  attitude  is  that  of  *'  continuing 
stedfastly." 

The  attitude  indicated  was  that  of  the  whole 
Church.  In  the  strangely  mysterious  days  be- 
tween the  ascension  and  Pentecost,  they  "  con- 
tinued stedfastly  in  prayer."  After  Pentecost 
the  Apostles  and  early  disciples,  together  with 
those  brought  into  the  company  through 
Peter's  preaching,  "  continued  stedfastly  in  the 
Apostles'  teaching,  and  fellowship;  in  the 
breaking  of  bread,  and  the  prayers." 

Now  in  the  case  of  the  Twelve  the  attitude 
215 


2i6      THE  FIRST  RESPONSIBILITY 

had  special  application  to  two  matters, 
"  Prayer,"  and  *'  The  Ministry  of  the  Word." 
This  meant  limitation;  but  such  limitation  as 
made  for  intensity  in  the  direction  indicated; 
and  so  limitation,  in  the  interest  of  the  whole 
fellowship  of  the  Church,  and  of  its  mission  in 
the  world.  All  the  other  duties  of  the  Fellow- 
ship were  most  sacred,  but  they  were  to  be  at- 
tended to  by  others.  These  men,  in  the  spirit 
of  continuing  stedfastness,  which  was  the  spirit 
of  all,  were  to  do  two  things;  they  were  to 
pray ;  and  they  were  to  serve  the  Word. 

Having  completed  our  consideration  of  the 
ministry  of  the  Word,  we  pause  in  conclusion 
to  remember  the  work  which  is  first  named, 
that  of  Prayer.  This  work  is  thus  first  named, 
because  it  is  preliminary;  and  it  is  connected, 
because  it  must  be  continuous.  Nothing  more 
is  necessary  in  this  connection  than  a  most 
simple  examination  of  the  idea  of  continuing 
stedfastly  in  prayer. 

The  word  for  prayer  in  this  passage  is  at  once 
the  most  common  in  use,  and  the  most  inclusive 
in  suggestion.  It  is  the  word  proseuchomai,  a 
compound  word,  made  up  of  the  preposition 
pros,  and  the  verb  ^uchbmai.  The  preposition 
suggests  motion  towards  a  goal;  while  the  verb 


THE  FIRST  RESPONSIBILITY      217 

simply  means  to  wish,  to  desire.  The  simplest 
idea  then  of  prayer  is  that  of  desire  towards 
God.  The  word  is  always  used  of  prayer  to  the 
gods  or  to  God.  It  includes  the  whole  attitude 
and  activities  of  prostration  in  worship,  of  the 
sense  of  dependence,  and  of  the  expression  of 
desire. 

The  phrase  "  continued  stedfastly "  is  the 
translation  of  one  Greek  word  prbskartereo, 
which  again  is  a  compound  of  the  same  prepo- 
sition proSy  and  the  verb  kartereo^  which  means 
to  be  strong;  that  is,  earnest,  determined  in 
effort.  Thus  the  whole  word  indicates  persist- 
ent, powerful  perseverance. 

It  is  thus  that  those  called  to  the  ministry  of 
the  Word  are  to  pray.  The  prayer  attitude  is 
that  of  a  consciousness  of  need,  of  dependence 
upon  God;  and  of  perfect  confidence  in  God. 
Apart  from  this  attitude  and  activity,  no  man 
can  fulfil  his  ministry  of  the  Word.  The  ques- 
tion, "  Who  is  sufficient  for  these  things?  "  and 
the  answer,  "  Our  sufficiency  is  of  God,"  com- 
bine to  inspire  earnest  and  persistent  prayer,  in 
the  power  of  which  the  ministry  of  the  Word 
may  be  exercised. 

It  is  then  of  the  utmost  importance  that, 
from  the  first,  the  man  called  to  this  ministry 


2i8      THE  FIRST  RESPONSIBILITY 

should  cultivate  the  habits  of  prayer.  This 
needs  to  be  done.  The  habits  of  the  religious 
life  are  no  more  spontaneous  than  are  those  of 
the  godless  life.  It  is  by  the  doing  of  things 
regularly,  systematically,  and  of  set  purpose, 
that  the  time  comes  when  they  are  done  habit- 
ually. 

The  habits  of  prayer  are  of  two  kinds ;  which 
may  be  described  as  the  regular  and  the  irregu- 
lar. The  regular  habits  are  those  of  set  times 
and  places  and  forms.  These  should  be  ar- 
ranged according  to  temperament  and  oppor- 
tunity, and  then  rigidly  adhered  to.  The  min- 
ister's study  should  be  first  of  all  his  oratory; 
the  place  into  which  he  can  go  and  shut  the 
door  against  all  intruders;  and  that  not  only, 
and  not  first,  to  study,  but  to  pray. 

The  irregular  habits  of  prayer  are  those  in 
which  the  soul  is  trained  to  the  perpetually 
Godward  attitude  in  thought,  in  purpose,  in 
activity.  Thus  prayer  will  be  ejaculatory,  or 
unuttered  as  to  words  even  in  thought;  the 
Godward  desire  perpetually  operating,  and  so 
influencing  all  thinking,  all  loving,  all  doing. 
Than  this,  nothing  is  more  important,  or  more 
potential.  It  is  thus  that  we  may  pray  without 
ceasing. 


THE  FIRST  RESPONSIBILITY      219 

To  continue  stedfastly  in  preaching,  it  is  nec- 
essary to  do  so  in  prayer.  There  must  be 
prayer  in  preparation,  for  the  shining  of  the 
true  light  upon  the  holy  page,  for  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  One  Interpreter.  There  must  be 
prayer  in  preaching,  for  the  cooperation  of  that 
Spirit,  through  Whom  the  demonstration,  or 
making  plain,  alone  can  come  to  the  hearers. 
There  must  be  prayer  in  all  the  pastoral  work 
which  follows  preaching,  for  true  wisdom  in 
dealing  with  those  who  are  to  be,  not  only  in- 
structed in  the  Truth,  but  led  into  obedience  to 
its  claims  in  all  manner  of  behaviour.  Granted 
the  man  gifted,  trained,  and  continuing  sted- 
fastly in  prayer,  the  ministry  of  the  Word 
through  him  will  be  powerful  and  prevailing. 

This  is  to  dismiss  a  subject  of  overwhelming 
importance  with  almost  discourteous  brevity. 
It  is  so  dismissed,  not  from  lack  of  the  sense  of 
urgency,  but  on  account  of  the  limitations  of 
my  present  theme.  Under  other  conditions 
there  is  nothing  I  should  count  a  greater  privi- 
lege than  to  speak  at  length  on  the  vital  relation 
between  prayer  and  preaching.  Here  and  now 
I  must  content  myself  with  this  brief  and  con- 
densed reference  to  that  relationship.  If  there 
is  one  thing  of  which  experience  has  made  me 


220      THE  FIRST  RESPONSIBILITY 

more  sure  than  of  anything  else,  it  is  that  there 
can  be  no  fruitful  and  victorious  ministry  of  the 
Word,  which  is  not  conditioned  from  first  to 
last,  not  only  in  the  sense  of  dependence  upon 
God,  but  also  in  the  active  expression  of  it, 
which  has  been  made  available  to  us  in  the 
sacred  privilege  of  prayer. 

The  briefest  backward  glance  over  the 
ground  we  have  traversed  will  illustrate  and 
emphasize  this  matter.  Service,  or  Ministry, 
can  only  be  intelligently  rendered  as  the  serv- 
ants or  ministers  of  the  Word  hold  constant 
converse  with  Him  of  Whom  the  Word  is  the 
Expression,  through  the  Word  Who  is  His  per- 
fect exegesis.  The  Word  can  only  be  rightly 
apprehended  as  the  interpretation  of  the  Spirit 
is  sought,  and  that  persistently.  The  Apostle 
who  is  to  render  it  available  to  men  by  transla- 
tion or  systematization  needs  all  the  time  to 
ask  for  guidance.  The  Prophet  proclaiming  it 
to  his  age  needs  to  remember  that  it  only  be- 
comes potential  as  it  is  delivered  in  the  power 
of  the  Spirit,  and  accompanied  in  the  delivery 
by  His  demonstration ;  and  for  this  cooperation 
he  must  ever  seek  in  prayer.  The  Evangelist 
can  only  combine  the  warning  and  wooing 
notes  in  the  harmony  of  his   message,   as  in 


THE  FIRST  RESPONSIBILITY      221 

prayer  he  gains  that  preparation  of  spirit  neces- 
sary to  so  delicate  and  glorious  a  task.  The 
Pastor  and  Teacher  will  be  perpetually  driven 
by  the  very  variety  of  the  claims  made  upon 
him,  to  seek  in  the  Secret  Place  the  direction  of 
the  One  Great  Shepherd  of  the  flock. 

To  meet  the  changed  conditions  of  to-day  in 
loyalty  to  the  unchanged  obligations  of  his  min- 
istry, every  preacher  w^ill  need  to  guard  his  own 
mind  and  heart  and  will  by  diligent  cultivation 
of  communion  with  God  in  prayer.  Through 
all  the  perilous  processes  of  training,  men  need 
prayer,  prayer,  and  always  prayer.  When  we 
pass  out  from  training  to  the  exercise  of  the 
holy  vocation,  then  perhaps  it  is  more  true  of 
us  than  of  any  man,  and  more  true  than  at  any 
time,  that  "  men  ought  always  to  pray,  and  not 
to  faint." 

Perhaps  the  final  word  on  this  matter,  to  be 
spoken  with  reverent  reticence,  and  yet  to  be 
uttered  unhesitatingly,  is  that  The  Word  of 
God,  in  days  of  limitation,  resulting  from  His 
infinite  Self-emptying,  found  necessary  the  long 
quiet  seasons  of  communion  with  God  alone 
upon  the  mountains;  and  constantly  interrupted 
even  His  pubHc  speech,  to  offer  praise  or  prayer 
to  His  Father. 


222       THE  FIRST  RESPONSIBILITY 

Surely  then  for  us  in  the  Ministry  of  the 
Word,  the  final  injunction,  exhortation,  should 
be.  Let  us  pray,  and  that  without  ceasing. 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


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